The Result should be announced today from the 'Royal College of Nursing' on the forthcoming Strike Action. Nurses are claiming they are not treated fairly, exhausted, traumatised, underpaid and, obviously fed-up!! It will not affect A & E or Critical Care!! If it is a Yes to Strike, it could be before Christmas. Thoughts anyone??? Source: BBC News!
National NHS Nurses Strike! - British Heart Fou...
National NHS Nurses Strike!
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ParrotLover22
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Hello 
I won't give my opinion on if they should go on strike or not and their reasons why but will say if they do then I think it is a big worry for so many and will affect many to x
ParrotLover22 in reply to
Hiya. Yes, it will definitely be of great worry to anyone who is waiting to be Operated on and, of course, other Departments. I'm just glad I have now been Operated on and more or less sorted. :). The only thing I am thinking of is it going to affect the Nurses at the INR Clinic that I go to nearly every Week. I really don't know!! That's nothing in Comparison though to if you are waiting for an Op etc. Hope you are feeling a bit better than you were too! x
in reply to ParrotLover22
Hello
I think all we can do is wait and see I suppose we will soon find out
O I am having bad stomach upsets still I get fed up with it all to be honest
I hope your parrots cage got cleaned out x
ParrotLover22 in reply to
Yeah it is :). Are you taking anything for your Stomach? Sounds like you need something to settle it. My Parrot's Cage is messy every day. Have to do it again in a bit. When I ask her to stop being so b...... messy, she just growls at me lol 😂 x
in reply to ParrotLover22
Hello
I have tried all sorts for my stomach nothing seems to work not sure if any of the meds I am on for my heart are causing it but fed up now with suffering
O yes I can imagine it is a daily job but one that is worth it for the joyment your parrot brings you x
ParrotLover22 in reply to
Could it be ALL Stress BeKind? I know if ever I get Stressed or Anxious, my Stomach plays up! Years ago, I went to the Doctor and he said it was IBS. He gave me Colafac. I found them good too. Maybe, you should try and have a Word with him. I really hope it gets better for you though X
in reply to ParrotLover22
Hello
I have been diagnosed with IBS years ago and my Doctor has always told me this is the cause it gets so bad though my anxiety starts thinking other things
O I have just been reading the paper on line and the Nurses have voted to go on strike
Hope you have been having a nice day x
ParrotLover22 in reply to
Yeah that's what Anxiety does unfortunately! Can't he prescribe something stronger for you perhaps or Anxiety Tablets if you don't take anything already of course. I feel for you, I really do. Anxiety is horrible!! I have spent most of the Day Cleaning. I have a Review with the Cardiologist tomorrow so I won't have that much time to do it then. Look after yourself X
PS: I'm hoping he'll Discharge me tomorrow so just Crossing my Fingers x
Nannysue1 in reply to
Have you tried Symprove?. I've been using it for a few years now. Google it, it's not cheap but it works for me.
in reply to Nannysue1
Hello
No I have never tried it in fact I have never heard of that one I will take a look at it I will try anything to calm this all down
Thank you so much for the suggestion x
ParrotLover22 in reply to
Hiya BeKind. I have just got in from the Hospital and yes, I have been Discharged :). Consultant was really pleased with me :). I still have to take the Tablets I am on as a precautionary measure and any problems, I am to tell my Doctor to get referred back!!
in reply to ParrotLover22
Hello
This is great news I am so pleased for you
Thank you for letting me know x
ParrotLover22 in reply to
Aww thankyou. It feels strange in a way though, I have been back and fo that Hospital for too many years to mention!! X
in reply to ParrotLover22
Yes I can imagine it will but I am sure in time you will get used to it x
Its very hard to have this discussion but what I will say is that we need to know all the facts, some about wage structures are explained here,
Nursing Salary, Pay Scale and Bands 2022 - Nurses.co.uk
ParrotLover22 in reply to
Thanks Blue. I will take a look at that later
ParrotLover22 in reply to
Hi Blue. Just to say I have just had a quick look at the Website and all Healthboards in Wales, at least, (apart from one), have Voted for Strike Action!!
HeartyJames in reply to
Those scales look like high pay but band 6 and above have management team leader roles like deputy sister and upwards. Most patient care nurses are up to band 5 and takes 18 months to years to move bands with training throughout and takes three years to get through a band so its a long time. Gets very skillful .. Anyway due to inflation we all want pay increases or it goes down in real terms. Problem is they get paid more in private sector and easier so we are always losing good nurses. I think maybe they need to have a contract to keep them and pay more for that flexi contract or a penalty. I support them especially after covid and all the promises. At least should have had a big bonus as nearly all of us supported such a thing. Strikes is a difficult one as effects people directly and the NHS. What can workers do though? We know this government would prefer to undermine the NHS.
I won't give an opinion on nurses striking but will send a big hug to all those who are worried and anxious about the likelihood that their appointments will be cancelled.
Yes I will too. It is the hardest time ever. When I was waiting for my By-Pass, (which was cancelled for months because of the Pandemic), I made myself 100% worse than what I actually was. Mentally wise!!
in reply to fairyfeathers
and worried about the implications for financial circumstances and job security regards being off sick of further delays. Ticking time bomb. 😔 the big hugs are appreciated ❤️
I must admit I went out and clapped for the Nurses during the Pandemic, because they did a good job but it was their job.
I would have clapped for Tesco or Lidl staff if I had been asked because they also did a good job. I think using the pandemic to justify a Strike for an above inflation Pay rise is really quite wrong. I wonder if someone should Die during a Strike can they sue the RCN for Damages ?
Send in the Military because that is what will happen. Army Drivers driving Ambulances Army, RAF, RN Nurses and thousands of Joe Public pushing patients on trolleys.
Sorry can't see the Government giving in on this one.
All Views are my Own bet this thread won't last a week lol
Regards
I'm wondering how long this Post will last too before it is taken down lol 😂
Army is pretty useless at this sort of stuff actually.
There are currently real problems in recruiting and retaining nurses, unless this is addressed more will walk (and how do I know this from an immediate member of family who is a senior nurse and continually struggles to maintain sufficient numbers for her team !).
So what are your plans for dealing with the low morale increasing nursing vacancies then?
I believe Low Morale is being generated from within the NHS after all it is a tool to beat the paymasters with!!
Do we need Degree Qualified Nurses? Yes for some Tasks for the majority of tasks No we don't. 2 Nurses to look after the Drugs round ? everything is written down for every patient that is a job that could be done by anyone.
Maybe the answer is to Recruit and Train Specialist Nurses non of this one size fits all agenda. Do you have to work your way up through the ranks? for every job.
Why not start as a Nurse Practitioner with 2/3 years at Uni specialising in say Heart Failure or Diabetic Care,or even Critical Care.
The pay scale will then be able to reflect the Skill and Value of the Education and just maybe gives us more bang for Our Billions of Pounds poured into the NHS. Ask yourself why no one in the World has copied the NHS ?
I so agree with you! Nurses are put on a pedestal far too much! Of course they are necessary but hey a lot of what they do is hardly rocket science..just following laid down procedure!
Hello Prada47, you raise some very good points funny you mention re degrees I was sitting here a nurse who fully agrees with your point over nursing degrees and that they should be got rid off and the fact that now instead of nurses getting a bursary then qualify with a considerable debt.
At the end of their day we need to ensure there is enough good nurses coming through to maintain the necessary service levels.
Yes there are. I have been to the Hospital today and the atmosphere was not good at all. Very Melencholy!! My Niece is a Nurse as well and she said exactly the same!!
You have made some very good Points. Certainly something to think about. We shall have to wait and see
You are Spot On, that's always the Case with anything! Hope you are OK by the way....
They wouldn’t have taken the decision easily to strike due to the impact. But until the details are fully released it won’t be critical areas that would be affected.
They all done an amazing job during Covid, with the risks and hours that they worked.
My daughter is a nurse which she completed her training at the start of covid, the hours and days they worked was lot. Even now that hasn’t changed much, most weeks she only gets 1 day off a week and doing 13 hour shifts.
She don’t get time to see her kids and is constantly tired. She loves her job and has no regret with her career decision. But unfortunately they have been forced into a corner like most professions hence why they are striking.
Clapping for them ain’t going to pay the bills, they need to pay them more to encourage people to take up nursing or stop them going to private hospitals.
I think we can either place focus on how a strike will impact us, or give thought to how not having the strike will impact the nurses.
It will be the first strike nurses have ever had. Why is that? Because nurses have always considered the needs of the patients and put them first.
The government knows this about them. And so felt they could get away with a pay freeze for quite a few years and then pitiful increases which they felt nurses should have been thankful for.
The nurses have finally felt enough is enough!
Ironically, most conservative governments have wanted to privatise the NHS for years. Public wouldn’t ever choose privatisation if our NHS services were robust and effective. Kind of feels like they reduce funding, squeeze the life of those that work there, reduce the standards, increase wait times, reduce the moral of nurses through salary and bring the NHS to its knees. The public might then feel more keen to consider privatisation.
By the way, I am not a nurse but have worked alongside them for many years. Three nurses that I know of secured opportunities working in private healthcare settings for an extra £15,000 a year!
NHS nurses want to stay in the NHS. NHS nurses want to continue to look after you. They feel forced to strike to show to the government that they’ve had enough and will no longer stand to be continually worn down.
Will their strike impact many? Yes of course and I’m sure they feel that’s regrettable but the Unions have tried to get the government to consider reaching a conclusion to this, to prevent what is coming, for a long time without success.
I say good on them! It’s been a long time coming for them!
I have a procedure due soon. I don’t want that cancelled. But if it is, I wouldn’t blame the nurses for the strike but the government who caused it.
Just my view
Well said. I hope your message is received & understood & respected by all who read it. The problem is our political system not our clinicians.
Huge thanks 🥰
my niece is an A&E nurse, my DiL is a HCA, her twin sister a nurse, I have many friends who are nurses. They work far longer hours than they are paid for, usually due to lengthy handovers beyond their contracted hours, they often go without breaks, eating crappy snacks on the run, shifts that switch from day to night shifts with just about a legal break between and barely enough time to recover. And they still manage to give amazing care My niece actually has severe RA and Crohn’s disease and still does 13 hours with lunch being two boiled eggs because she can eat them without having to sit down. This is not sustainable let alone acceptable. I support our nurses.
Very well said and thank you for your support. As a midwife who will be striking your coments are much appreciated.And just to put some minds at rest, we will be striking on our days off so that patient care is not affected.
I just feel sad for you all that it’s come to this! As much as I’m sure the Unions have tried to reach an outcome so that strike action is prevented. What a shame! But all the very best to you! Your hands have been tied for so long. Here’s an opportunity to untie them a little 🥰
thank you for your service ♥️
Well said and you hit the nail right on... The Tory ideology is to erode the NHS to encourage more to go private etc etc. Not all of them think that way but the right of the party do for sure
Brilliant response!
Nurses put their patients first , before themeselves and their families. We work late and come in to do extra shifts and then we often told that it is a vocation, you chose it so therefore stop whining. In the end some nurses will have had enough and leave or take early retirement. I have known nurses in tears after a 12hr short staffed shift and they are expected to go in the next day and do it all again!
It has now have got to the stage of striking to make the Govt listen! Wll they be worried about their patients? Of course they will, because they care, really care and can see that staff shortages and cuts are actually affecting their patients.
The fact that the nurses have given the RCN a lawful mandate to call strike action is, in some respects, the best thing that they could have done. The mandate does not mean that strike action will definitely take place but it is a stage necessary before a union can call strike action. This is all part of a process put in place and strengthened by legislation brought to force by Tory governments .
All of us, both nationally and particularly as members of this forum, have reasons to be extremely supportive of the nurses. The government should also be extremely supportive of them. Unfortunately, it appears, the government has forgotten the Sterling service of the nurses during Lord Voldermort's reign and ever since the foundation of the NHS in 1948 which led to the NHS being awarded the George Cross by the current Tory mob sitting in Westminster.
Maybe now the government will sit up and take notice of a workforce and national treasure which has reached desperation point after watching their wages decrease in value for so many years .
We, collectively as a nation, should, once again, applaud our NHS staff and demand a living wage for the nurses.
Enough is enough! This isn't about individual nurses, this is about a system that is on its knees, it's about having enough staff to provide the basic levels of of safe care, it's about protecting our patients and their families, it's about nurses not getting burned-out from the unreasonable demands placed on them through inadequate staffing levels, it's about retaining nurses so that they do not feel forced to join the private sector to get better pay, it's about nurses not having to be reduced to tears because they felt like they were not able to provide the care their patients needed. I could go on, but I hope this has provided food for thought
Spangle 14, well put. There are simply not enough staff to do the job. I was shocked when someone I know, who has been a nurse for nearly 30 years, told me how many hours she actually worked in a week. Nurses do an amazing job, they just need to go to work, do the job and not have to do all this ridiculous amount of unpaid overtime. Same with Doctors. Medical staff who are tired and run down, do not make the correct decisions. We need to recruit more staff. I have been told that this is the main problem, no adequate recruitment of nurses and doctors for years.
I am sorry but a starting salary of £27,000 and the mid point pay bracket for experience at £37,000 all for just a 37hrs per week to me is not that bad. How is going on strike going to help all those on extensive waiting lists, blackmail by their union comes to mind. They have been offered a settlement, do they deserve a bit more maybe but a 12% rise is plain daft and could tip the NHS.
Do you think they actually work 37 hours? My nurse friends will work about 42-45hours and get paid for 37.5 hour week because they’re short staffed and they stay on to help, or go without breaks, in a role that needs them to be on their game. When they could walk out and take a private job that pays up to 50% more? My friends love the NHS, love being nurses but their working conditions are untenable and they are worth a lot more than their current pay rate.
Over the last couple of year I've been ambulanced to A&E a couple of times and I've spent 12 nights in 3 different hospitals....from that experience I have concluded the following.Nurses and staff in A&E are under lots of pressure and are on the go most of the time.
Nurses on wards have for the vast majority of the time a very relaxed and easy time and are able to spend a great deal of time chit chatting to collegues and patients.
Nurses on out patient clinics are the least productive of all and spend most of the day doing nothing!!
I don't know if they have separate pay scales for example between A&E and outpatients, if they don't they should because their is no comparison in terms of what they are doing.
I'm not knocking the great care I've received from nurses, they do a brilliant job, but I won't accept the fact that they are all under constant pressure and work their socks off.
I also hope that they think about their great pension scheme when looking at their package, a nurse told me how good it was.
I agree with you and Rnzz99. I'm a long retired nurse from the days when we worked 44 hrs a week, and frequently did not get off duty on time. We were truly paid a pittance and did many tasks that today's nurses no longer have to do. I have been a patient, too, and agree that those on A&E are usually overworked and they may be in some other departments as well, but in general on the ordinary wards they seem to have time to cluster round the nurses' station chatting, and entering stuff on the computer, and if you are not "their" patient they can't do anything for you. The ones who deserve a pay rise are the HCAs who seem to do the real nursing these days.
Ex out patient nurse here who would work 9+ hours running a OPD, running clinics, assisting with minor ops, doing dressings, looking after patients, consultants and staff, problem solving, indentifying unwell patients and dealing with emergencies all on a luke warm cup of tea and £11 an hour! We don't all sit around doing nothing!!!
I must agree with your post 100%
This is a Profession that has talked itself into being Overworked and Underpaid, I do believe some of them believe this but not all.
I know a Nurse who quit the NHS or did she? Now she does 2 Nights a week for the same pay, working as a Bank Nurse at the same Hospital. I suppose she is one of those listed as having left the NHS?
All this talk about " We are doing this to protect the NHS " is a load of ******** The Royal College of Nursing is just a Trade Union trying to extract the maximum pay for it's members . That is the reason for Trade Unions.
I don't think Tesco are paying £37000 as we are being told Nurses are leaving to work at Tesco etc.
Don't get me wrong I am eternally grateful to the Critical Care Nurse who looked after me after my bypass op, due to the fact they had a problem Warming up my Heart. She was wonderful but I could say the Nurses on the High Dependance Unit left a lot to be desired.
Why because they had a long handover chatting away and the patient was left to slip down the bed without anyone available to help " Because it was the Handover " I am old enough to remember when a Sister/Staff Nurse did the handover and passed everything else on.
Now all they really need is 5 minutes to pass over the i pad with all the patients information so they don't need to rely on memory from a handover.
I suppose what I am saying is all Nurses are not the same, some are Highly Skilled like a Nurse Practitioner or Critical Care Nurse etc but a lot are really helpers after being taken down the degree route, do all Nurses require a Degree ??
Sorry for the rant but I feel strongly that we are being led down the garden path with this.
I know of a Nurse eating Patients Left Over Food now that was on the News this morning. I can't believe it !
Regards
You need to do a lot more research
The £27. 000 starting salary is for Band 5 nurses and most nurses you see in a hospital as staff nurses are on Band 5 and will remain on that band throughout their careers and will never nmake that £37000 you quote. Not because they are not good enough, but that there are only a limited number of higher band jobs available. Also many nurses are female and will take time out for childcare/caring for elderly relatives and will return on part time contracts which are less likely to be on a higher band. The media and Govt are being disengenuous when they quote a higher salary.
They may remain on Band 5 but they don't stay on £27,000 for life do they? They get an increase every so often and can be on more than £30,000 after 5 years. It is a little disingenuous to give the impression that experience is not rewarded.
I don't believe the pay levels are as important as the apparent lack of care for nurses by management. The very least they could do is provide free parking for staff since public transport is so unreliable.
I actually never said that they stay at £27,000. They are rewarded and go up to the top of their pay band, but I am fed up of the media and Govt quoting a higher general wage £37, 000 when the majority of staff will never get that. That wage is repeated and repeated until many believe that is a true reflection of the basic pay for a nurse.
Being the mum of a daughter who is both a nurse and a midwife, this is a subject close to my heart. The 37 hours a week is not quite what it seems. For starters they often work over their hours for no extra pay and this is obviously exacerbated by severe staff shortages. The work they do in those hours is done under a great deal of pressure, as they struggle to compensate for staff shortages and they will often have to forego breaks.Yes, a nurse's strike may well increase extensive lists, but please bear in mind that these are already in existence and they have been brought about by the perpetual underfunding, and staff shortages. Please also bear in mind that nurses and midwives have to pay for their training, since the removal of bursaries some years back.
Like I said in my original post, this isn't about individual nurses wanting more money in their pocket, it is a much wider issue that impacts on so many aspects of patient care.
I think it’s shameful that they are going to put peoples lives at risk over money. They are not badly paid at the moment and have lots of opportunities for overtime.
I'm sad you feel that way. The same could be said for everyone who is struggling to pay their bills under current ( I'd say selfishly government created) circumstances. People have budgeted for expenditure which is now way beyond their means. Nurses are having to access food banks and they still have to pay for parking, their professional registration every year and other work-related costs. It shouldn't be a race to the bottom wage-wise in one of the world's richest countries. It doesn't need to be, either. These are choices our government has made.
Shameful very strong words.
Have you or would you do their job in the current climate?
Shameful is indeed a strong word. But going on strike and allowing people to suffer and possibly die on wards justifies the word. I have 2 nurses in my family and have recently spent time in hospital myself. There are some very good nurses but there are a lot of very lazy nurses as well. I’d happily pay the good ones more, by reducing the pay of the bad ones!
Yes but would you do the do yourself that is what I asked? (I know I wouldn't/couldn't).
Suggesting we should have nurses with the right skills and attitude is right, however getting them and retaining them is another thing, perhaps you will tell us how this is done?
I don’t think the nhs staff will be the only people choosing to go on strike in near future.?
We can’t carry on like this, I don’t want to see anyone strike but what are folk suppose to do when talks or requests fail or ignored. I would think going on strike isn’t an easy decision to make and they must feel pretty desperate for choosing to do so.?
I hope they come to some compromise for everyone’s sake and both sides make a bad situation better.
Fully support our nurses and other healthcare workers. The amount of abuse they put up with when trying to care for us, the horrendous hours with no breaks, the needing to use food banks, the trauma they must have suffered during the pandemic...
They connected us with our loved ones through technology while we couldn't visit them in hospital. They held people's hands so they wouldn't die alone. They couldn't hug their own loved ones at the end of a gruelling shift, for fear of infecting them.
They've reassured us during frightening times with our heart conditions. They've kept our spirits up. They've cared for us. They do a job most of us can't imagine, or don't want.
And for what thanks... a round of applause on a Thursday night?
Our nurses deserve better. I stand with our nurses.
well said, I couldn’t have said it better. I’m a retired nurse who so many times went the extra mile so to speak, not for the money, but for what was needed at that point in time. I’m not bragging, I loved my job.
Yes. I do too. I was in Hospital for 6 Weeks right smack bang in the middle of the Pandamic and the Nurses there were absolutely fantastic Some of the Patients though spoke to them as if they were a piece of dirt, threw abuse at them and it was embarrassing to say the least. I felt so sorry for them, I could have cried myself. They deserve respect!!
As I understand it the nurses are not striking solely for pay but also because of patient safety. That is already being compromised.To be totally honest when I have been taken to A&E by ambulance over the last 18 months I have encountered some instances of pretty appalling nursing care, some was okay, others not. Even at the time I have been able to see that a) there wasn't enough staff, b) I don't know what is going on in that person's life at the time, and c) I don't work there, I don't know what stems from bad policy by management etc.
It's not a job I would ever have contemplated regardless of the pay.
Your last paragraph says it all, it's not a job I would do either.
To get good nurses you need people with the right skills and attitude and enough of them to staff our hospitals. Sadly there doesn't appear to be enough and unless those who are are retained things will only get worse.
No they are not striking just because of Pay. Chronic-Under Re-sourcing is also a big problem as well as Patient Safety and the future of the NHS. The Pandemic was the Tip of the Iceberg 
every person deserves a decent wage regardless of what job you do .the only problem with any job that has to be paid out off the public purse is that the money has to come from somewhere .take council workers for one example they do a great job but when they need a pay rise our council tax has to increase to cover it .the case of nhs staff and not just nurses because with out all the support staff they can’t operate if you give one profession why shouldn’t the rest get ie cleaners porters etc as these guys work just as hard .the money has to come from somewhere ie tax rise when that happens everyone complains .it comes down to the more you get the more you want .a hospital door is not there to keep staff in it can let you out as well .becoming a nurse is not compulsory it is a choice and their wages are well advertised before they start .as I said before everyone deserves a decent wage .food for thought
Most Agency Nursing companies were and are started by and run by nurses trained by the NHS,
Yes I agree that they pay their staff a better wage, but nothing compared to what they charge an hour for that service, all of which we pay for.
Agency Nursing companies regularly try to recruit from newly trained nurses with the offer of better pay,
As with all jobs there are the ones that love, respect and enjoy their work, and what a breath of fresh air these people are in any walk of life regardless of their occupations.
Then there are others that it is just a job, a means to pay bills and survive, most of the work force falls into this bracket and there is nothing wrong with that.
I for one have worked all my life and can count on one hand the days that I have skipped to work, it just never happened for me, but I made sure that my private life flourished.
So back to our nurses,
I know that the ones dedicated to their work will be devastated as people die { and they will } because of this strike action { we may even lose nurses because of it } but the others, that we all have met in our personal dealing with the NHS [ this forum/ site is full of such stories } will happily strike { full pay of course }
Let the can of worms be opened
Janma123 in reply to
Unless the strike time is taken out of annual leave and booked in advance they will surely not be paid for strike days that they are withholding their labour. I have never agreed with strike action and as a former teacher never went on strike (I was in a non striking union) but know that my colleagues who did strike had pay deducted.
in reply to Janma123
Thank you for correcting me, I didn't realise that they didn't get paid for striking, lesson learnt .
I have been at the receiving end of the wonderful care that nurses give.I feel they deserve more than 4% but 17% ? Maybe more basic raise and a bonus towards inflation .We all have to cope with inflation unfortunately.
I do hope my ablation will not be affected.
I am going to get slated here, I agree 💯 nursing staff should get a decent pay rise for what they do.I respect all nhs workers for their dedication to the job and free care that we receive. Here goes they know the pay scales they would get when they went into the profession but still should get a decent rise.
It's there patients that are going to suffer in an already crumbling NHS on it's knees.
Is that caring?
Strike, go for it. The NHS has been trashed,insulted and totally run down by UKGOV. Ministers have exploited the nursing code for decades. Hopefully it might even slow the stream of time wasters,drunks and druggies who turn up at A&E if they realise there is no one there to sort them out.
Well said!!
I was in A&E at Colchester hospital six weeks ago, the nurses were treated terrible by a lot of the public, they were rushed off their feet, I was in there for 17 hours before being moved into majors, the nurses were doing 12 hour days, very few members of the public said please or thank you to them, most of the time people were asking if they could hurry up, most of the time it was not the patient it was the person with them, once past A&E it calmed down but the nurses are still very busy, but all the way through from walking into A&E to being discharged after an op for a stuck kidney stone the staff were very kind and caring.
How they feel when they get home and realise they can’t pay their heating bill or can’t afford to tax their car must be horrendous for them, they have to pay to park their cars at the hospital, they have to pay each year about £120 to keep their registration so they can carry on nursing, how is that fare? Nurses having to pay just so they can be a nurse?
Pay the nurses what they deserve sort out our NHS we would be in a mess without it.
believe it or not nurses are not the only people who must pay a registration fee to work .child minders nursery nurses most building trade workers just to name a few. Nurses like the rest off us have a choice they know the wages same as the rest of us .and if they can’t afford their heating bills what chance does a shop worker or cleaning lady have .I’m sorry i don’t agree with anyone striking nobody is forced to work on low wages you either take the job or look for something else
yes I was aware that a lot of other workers pay as well but how many of those shop workers or cleaners trained for years at hight levels that nurses do, don’t get me wrong anyone who goes to work on low wages rather than choosing to be on benefits is a star in my book. But nurses have peoples health in their hands on a daily basis, the mental stress a nurse has to cope with on a daily basis is horrible. A cleaner don’t have to hold someone’s hand as they pass away, a shop worker does not have to clean someone who has messed the bed, a take away delivery driver does not see the dismay on someone face when they are told their loved one is going to die. Then at the end of their shift are expected to go home and live a happy family life with all that on their shoulders, then have bills to worry about on top of that, then they are expected to go back the next day and do it all over again while they know they can’t take their child to the coast or get them the birthday gift they want. I know a lot of people are in the same boat but they are not expected to dress our wounds put needles in our bodies while coping with the worry of money.
The whole country needs to change when it comes to what people are paid to be honest, we are a rich county and people should not need food banks etc etc
the point I’m trying to make to you is that yes I agree that a nurse has to go through all these things but at the end of the day when they sign up for the job like everyone else they know the wages they know the hours it’s there choice .to revive a 17%wage increase is unacceptable what everyone should remember is the money comes from our taxes .if they were to get a huge rise why shouldn’t everyone else that works for the nhs get one before long we will all have to pay 25/28 p in the pound to generate enough money to pay every person in the public sector
the 17% pay rise is a starting point tho if they ask for less they will get a lot less they will not get 17%, when they sing up for the job they expect their wages to go up with inflation that’s where the trouble lies, we have to be careful in this country or in years to come the health care will be like USA and then there are millions who can’t afford their meds etc. the problem is the top workers get to much money for sitting in a hospital office often with no medical training on hundreds of thousands a year plus bonuses, the system needs sorting, the government is happy to pay 3 billion in Foreigh aid but forget about it’s own it’s just crazy, not forgetting if the nurses get a pay rise they will also pay more tax back to the government. I don’t agree with strikes either but what option do they have?
in reply to Boxroad
I think your getting nurses mixed up with Health Care Assistant that do most of the dirty work on wards
My thoughts exactly and you are right, there will be NO NHS!!
I totally agree
Totally agree nurses should get a decent pay rise at least 15% , they deserve it. Strike will cause problems but what else can they do, you watch when the MPs get their rise, it will be at least 10%, I know who I value more.
Yes pay them properly and stop the creeping privatisation of the NHS. The NHS managers are outsourcing all costs, holding back recruitment and training. How many staff that treat you are locums ie agency paid? The cost for using agency staff is typically three times the cost of a permanent employee.All the Doctors are complaining that they are retiring because they are exceeding their lifetime pension allowance so it's not worth them working!!!! I could comment. But although many GP's for example now only work part time they may of course still be working via a private company agency for the balance of their hours or as much as they see fit.
The NHS commissioners can fund beds wherever. So my GP advised I needed a gallbladder operation. He tapped his keyboard and gave me two choices, one: my local general which would be a telephone triage appointment at an unspecified date, with unspecified outcomes or two: a local private hospital appointment with the consultant surgeon (who works at the General!) next week! PAID FOR BY THE NHS. So here I write two weeks on from my surgery in a private hospital, just over two months on from referral! Waiting lists? Priorities?
I THINK THIS IS AN EXAMPLE OF THE STRATEGIC DISMANTLING OF THE NHS WITH A LONG TERM PLAN TO GO TO AN AMERICAN INSURANCE BASED SYSTEM.
So when one side of the conservative party bit the health funding problem by proposing a hypothecated NI increase, the other side of the same party went apoplectic as they need the system to implode and push people even more to private health care insurance.
There are countless other examples.
Same has happeed to me with both cataract operation and a spinal operation and ct scan; both offered at private hospitals within 3 weeks. The nhs option would have been 9 months or more.
I've just had first hand experience of our local A&E on Tuesday with my DH. Our duty doctor had pre-alerted that we were coming in. We arrived at 5.30, Got seen about 6.30 and eventually DH got a bed at 4am. When I left about 1am I heard a nurse say walk ins had a wait of 10 hours. Every nurse and doctor were working non stop . Do I support the right to strike? Yes I do and so does DH. The pay grades do not reflect the working conditions. I didn't know that nurses had to pay to keep their registrations...how many of us with professional qualifications had our annual registries paid by our employers? TBH if we culled the amount of MP"s we have (overstaffed) and the costs associated with them - expense accounts anyone? And the house of lords only paid attendance to those who actually did something instead of it being a member's club we could probably fund a decent wage to our nurses.
I know our NHS bill is huge but how much of that is due to advances in technology and equipment? Those stands that take your BP etc are 1k each, a linear accelerator for radiation therapy, 3mill+ each, my hospital has 5, and what about installation and maintenance of them. How much are those echo machines MRI and CT scanners? It's not all spent on the nurses.
Rant over, feel free to ignore!
Absolutely right to give real examples, not a rant at all. We still spend less on health care than our continental ex cousins. Of course when we give examples of expenditure it also plays into the hands of the loudly protesting waste and bureaucracy brigade. Spot on about our democracy. Interesting to compare with USA where they have 100 elected members to the upper chamber (our Lord's equivalent which is currently over 800 I believe) and around 435 to the lower house our equivalent MP's 635 ish, not counting the absentees!
everyone makes valid points either way, I’m still scared silly though about what will become of me and my kids due to impact of delays and sick pay runs out. Selfish I know.
ParrotLover22 in reply to
No it is not selfish at all. You have to look after your Family so your opinion is very understandable!
Having read last night which hospitals are most likely to be affected the one thing that did worry me was that the ambulance service in our area is going to strike. Our hospital are won't be affected but the ambulance and 111 service does worry me as our emergency hospital is 30 minutes away and a car can't speed like an ambulance can.
I have read some of the replies here first, just to see people's thoughts. I too clapped for the nurses but agree in a way that other essential serviced were just as important. I have been in and out of hospital a lot in the last 2 years and have seen for myself the chronic shortness of staff accross the board, not just nurses but doctors and consultants too. You don't realise how bad it is tillyou see itfor yourself. Health care assistants are qualified to do EVERYTHING a nurse does, apart from give out medication!! They dont want to be a nurse because of the responsibility and politics!!! It also depends on how much the nurses are supported by their charge nurse!! AND how much support the charge nurse is getting too!! I never think it's right that anyone strikes as it causes major disruption, but nurses??? Thats a whole different matter and I'm not really sure how I feel about it!?
The only thing I think really about all of this is the hype it causes. Yes they do a brilliant work but isn’t that that why they do the job. So many people do not earn enough but I was told yesterday of a train driver who was earning £120k but still striking. I had wonderful treatment when I needed it. So no personal complaints. If everybody gets the rise they want prices will get even higher. My Cardio nurse said she is striking to get more staff on the wards.
you sure got a big response to this post
I was a nurse 1965-2012 and frankly I am appalled that ANY nurse would choose to go on strike. Nursing has never been an easy vocation, but it is what we decided that we wanted to do. I do not think that this will change anything. Patients have enough worries, and this will not help them. Before anyone `shoots me down` this is just an old nurses' opinion, and I am sad.
My dear beloved aunt was an auxillary nurse and was the most dedicated person ever, she most certainly would give them her opinions if she were here today. I was in hospital an emergency femoral hernia in December, I rn out of my heart meds because no one told me I had to bring in 'all' my own meds, i only took a small amount. The nurse administering kept saying 'no, you only have xyz' but another nurse 2 days previously said theyd ordered them. She said to me 'what do you want me to do about it'!! I told her that I'd go into A Fib if I didn't get the meds, no answer!
Sorry to hear that. I went into Hospital for 6 Weeks and used their Medication. I took my own in and they said, no, use ours!
This was the problem, I'd heard this sort of thing from others and as I'd had a lot of new boxes didn't want them thrown away. It wan't made clear to me what the practice was.
Hi Everyone. So very sorry for not getting back to you all sooner, but I had a Hospital Appointment this morning and left my Phone on Charge in the House. I was in a rush!!!
I quote "So, you're basically saying that the job they do is too essential for them to strike", where did I say that? Please do not twist my words, I said that their action would not help those on waiting lists....nothing like "the job they do is too essential to strike".
The comment that it won't be helping those on waiting lists was a fact, you chose to read the comment to align with your views.If I'd wanted to state something I would have said it rather than imply it.
well said
That makes two of us.I didn't know it was an argument, well it wasn't from my side, you must have a short fuse!!
Have a great afternoon
What do I think? Well, my autistic, learning challenged brother went into hospital and due negligent treatment has died. I'm waiting an inquest. 'Do no harm'!
I am a nurse have been for over 35 years. Now a nurse specialist and a member of the rcn. I am disgusted an appalled by the nurses strike action. There are many things wrong with the nhs but striking for more pay is not in my opinion the way forward or morally right.
I was surprised to learn of the change in policy by the RCN. As a retired nurse and former member of the RCN their condition of membership used to be that you wouldn't take strike action. Some nurse's unions voted to strike in the nineteen seventies but all RCN members continued to work. As I recall those who did strike didn't gain anything.
MilkfairyHeart Star
Here is some further information about which hospitals and trusts will be affected by the nurses' strike.
independent.co.uk/news/heal...
Thank you Milkfairy. I will read it later.
I'm not saying they don't work hard and do long hours etc - the basic they get is £32,000 a year. At present. The rise the Government is offering them will give them £37,000 a year - the rise they want is to £41,000 a year.I think maybe it should just be the working conditions/hours etc they are fighting to change first and foremost. Do they get overtime pay on top of their basic? Just an honest question.
I do realise they all do a brilliant job and deserve a good wage, but with the Country on it's knees at the moment, surely a £5000 a year rise and some arrangement re working conditions and hours being better would be ok?
In my opinion, the Government is the biggest problem. That's all the Conservatives want is for the NHS to be privatised!!
Sorry you have no evidence for this statement,
The starting pay on Band 5 for nurse is £27,000 and will go up to £33,000 and many nurses will remain on that band. All staff nurses are Band 5 and are the majority of ward staff. There are fewer Band 6 jobs which have the higher wages.
The only problem with your suggestion of better working conditions and hours would be difficult to obtain when there are such staff shortages. Staff shortages = burnt out staff, low morale and staff leaving = even greater shortages. There is a lot to address within the NHS, but it really is not the fault of the nursing staff, but with those in Govt.
in reply to Hephzibar
It's never the workers fault is it, like all Governments industries it must be the Governments fault.
If private industry worked like this the country would be even more on its knees,
We are a cash cow that is being milked dry.
" if you don't pay us more, you can't get to work ",
" if you don't pay us more, rubbish will pile up in the streets",
"if you don't pay us more, your children won't get an education",
"if you don't pay us more, we won't get you to hospital "
and now
" if you don't pay us more we won't be there to treat you",
It has to end, whoever is in power, this is not just politics anymore, its a greedy self centred, I want more more more for doing less society that sadly the Nurses Union has jumped on.
They are the Problem basically!
The Planned Strike is not just about Pay though if you read all of it!
'You all cried...' I don't think so, I work in an accountants in payroll I have not heard one client complain, nor did I!
Please do not post lies The Government does not pay Bankers Bonuses the Bank they work for pay them. Bankers pay income tax on the bonus so a win for the Government and us.
Believe me far more crap was pumped into the sea before the water was privatised with far less fines being imposed.
For someone that has not posted a post about their health you seem to have popped up just in time to spout a lot of miss-information so far backing the Nurses Strike.
How you can't see that holding peoples health in their hands to get more pay { not to fight for a better work place that they seem not bothered about } is morally wrong I will never understand, I pray that it doesn't affect you or any of your loved ones.
Are you not in the lest bit worried when you wake up who is holding a gun to your head ? or are you so out of living in the real world that none of this affects you anymore?
maybe the reason I can say what I say { without re-thinking } is the fact that I think first before writing?
It has nothing to do with the ones { me included } that have benefitted? { saving my life is a benefit ? } but about how we preserve the NHS for future patients , and I PERSONALLY don't think that this is the right way of going about it making yet again the public suffer and held to ransom.
I have not been treated by a bunch of Angels but a bunch of highly trained individuals that came together as team to help me.
Its about the team, not individuals fighting for themselves and not thinking about what their actions will do to the others in that team.
My compassion is not obvious it is natural and it is not just for members but for all.
Typical troll reply. statement no evidence.
I am sorry that you found that my answer was derogatory to you, for that I apologise ,
it was not meant as a personal attack against you. I love the fact your opinion differs from mine, that is how a balance is reached { a little from you a little from me } and very soon { this one included } confrontations come to an end.
Take care and please never think, that I don't think, that your opinions matter, they do and they are extremely important, even If they are not inline with mine.
Hi all,
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