 I still remember the outrage in 1982 when thousands of nurses marched on London demanding a pay rise as other NHS unions took industrial action. The nurses didn't strike and eventually got a raise and new pay review body, but their salaries have never reflected the difficult work they do. And since 2010 their real terms pay has been CUT by 20% leaving many so skint that they're now reliant on foodbanks. That is why Royal College of Nursing members are going on strike for the first time in 106 years. How could they? Because they are at breaking point. What if patients die? They already are thanks to worsening waiting lists. Caring profession? Erm, weren't you out clapping for them during the pandemic? Vocation? Yep, that's why they put their){kind=link}
Columnist Rachael Bletchly knows exactly how tough being a nurse is, and says we shouldn’t condemn Royal College of Nursing members who are striking for better pay and conditions
I was five when my mother gave me a frilly cap and a little red case packed with bandages. “Playing hospital” became my favourite game and I grew up dreaming of becoming a nurse⦠a Night Sister just like she was.
I watched TV’s “Angels”, learned about Florence Nightingale and read about VADs on the Somme. Then in 1982 I started my training on an annual salary of £3,000, around £12,500 today. But I didn’t last the year.
Within weeks I realised my “vocation” was a fantasy and I didn’t have the stomach or staying power for nursing.
Medical advances have transformed the profession in the 40 years since I bailed out. But what hasn’t changed is the terrible pay – or the way the angels are so swiftly demonised when they consider gÂoing on strike.