Nurses Strike -Do you support? What will it look like?

Yes, a thousand times yes, I do support their strike

OOh! - Ladyleftfield to exploit people because they have VOCATIONS is unfair. That could be argued about many professions. People should be paid what they are worth. I think the nurses SHOULD strike because it's the only way people will ever listen to them and maybe the only way to get people out of the mindset that this is a 'vocation' and they can be used and abused. We need these people, we should pay them.

Ladyleftfieldlover

Wasn’t nursing seen as a vocation so decent salaries were never offered or expected?

Times have changed, it costs a hell of a lot more to live now than when someone came up with that saying. I've been in and out of hospital for the last 35 years and nurses are under far more pressure than they was when I first started going in. Staff shortages largely down to people not wanting to go in to that profession anymore leaves those that are there working stupid hours. They deserve a decent pay rise in my opinion

I have a stepdaughter who is a nurse, this year her family went on a £10,000 holiday, she went to Paris to buy a designer bag £1500 and owns a £1000 designer coat, her lifestyle is quite lavish, by my standards anyway. Her husband is a train driver and between them they earn over £100,000 per year, so I am not sure if the pay increase should not be fore the younger staff and most definately for care workers.

Having nursed for 50 years I sadly cannot condone nurses striking , Since project 2000 nursing has become a degree only profession,What about all the other people who would make good nurses, but don’t want the degree route , Apprenticeship, actually learning under supervision on the wards would surely be really good alternative and supply some really good nurses:
Please do not condone the management structure sadly that takes a third of the NHS budget and even more sadly most are not fit for purpose

After reading some of the comments, I would just repeat what I said earlier - if you don't think they deserve a pay rise, try doing their job! I couldn't, no matter how highly I was paid.

Schroedinger's nurse: too important to strike, but not important enough to be paid a decent wage!

Yes i support them having more money but such a shame that they have to resort to this- the conservatives are just out for themselves and they know we know that- thats why they wont give us the general election we so badly need.They wont give nurses a decent raise, yet they happily pay their own ex PM's all that cash EVERY YEAR when they leave office- no matter how long theyve held it?- Thats an outdated idea in the first place- if any 'normal' worker loses or leaves a job then thats it- cash ended! (yes there might be a bit of a pension at end but thats what you earn yourself just while youre in the job) Why would they expect to be paid such a lot just cause it was PM's job? If youre out- youre out! (And i think that needs looking at & changing no matter which party is in office!) The extra cash saved could go towards helping to fund nurses pay,at least a bit.And yes there are too many trusts- when it wasnt 'health trust this & that & the other there wasnt so much being squandered on pay for health trust bigwigs.

I dont understand why some of the ambulance services are striking as well though? Is it just so theyre in support of the nurses?

We have found ££billions for a pure vanity project called HS2 that will bring minimum benefit to a minority of people in one part of the UK. Scrap it and pay public service workers more. Likewise we found countless millions to bury the Queen - and nobody was yelling ‘how can we afford it in times of austerity’.
We can find the money when we want yo, It’s really about priorities.

ginnycomelately

Having nursed for 50 years I sadly cannot condone nurses striking , Since project 2000 nursing has become a degree only profession,What about all the other people who would make good nurses, but don’t want the degree route , Apprenticeship, actually learning under supervision on the wards would surely be really good alternative and supply some really good nurses:
Please do not condone the management structure sadly that takes a third of the NHS budget and even more sadly most are not fit for purpose

So agree with this. No, I’ve never been a nurse, but have thought the same re degree qualifications and the NHS missing out on “natural nurses” who are not academics. The NHS is far too too heavy and PFI hospitals and outsourcing cleaning and catering etc have not helped

Nursing pay has fallen behind for many years and they have to pay for their training so come out with a huge debt Boris added insult by clap for caters no recognition of the dangerous work they were doing whilst Ministers lined their pocket with POE contracts and have they got the money for faulty contracts I bet no

Yes it was & is a vocational job , that is why the pay review body was set up to ensure that fairness was seen on pay & conditions however for years this & previous governments have mostly ignored the recommendations.
Today nurses carry out more complex work including talking about end of life care to families already in distress with care kindness & dignity , a job only previously discussed by Consultants. The list is endless.
As nursing is a people skill you can’t just walk out at home time ,as the person in charge of the ward etc. I have previously worked unpaid overtime to ensure patient safety over my 36.5yrs before I retired in 2015 due to burnout & it was time to look after myself after caring for others in career & family in various parts of the country. So like many not paid & unable to take time back due to lack of staff .
Staffing has been impounded by successive governments of cutting costs in the wrong places ie time & motion studies to justify reducing safe staffing levels , work consultants who come in with a bright idea which works on paper but not in reality/ or has been done before . PPI hospital builds, could go on the list again is endless.

I hope I have been able to give you an insight into reality the pressure that staff including medical & supporting teams teams of porters & domestic staff etc. Everyone have been under since 1990’s enough is enough.

Having being in hospital last year myself and watching these poor nurses running around non stop due to staff shortages yes I do support them I think anyone in public service should get what they deserve nurses army police etc. I’m waiting for appointment at Hosptial but I still support the nurses

As patient safety is already undermined by staff shortages I can't imagine that the claim that patients safety will be unaffected is true, although I have read that A&E services will be excluded from strike action.
I don't feel any more or less sympathy for them than any other group who feel that their pay is not sufficient to cope with the cost of living. Most employees have the right to strike of course, but their actions don't tend to inconvenience the right people.

I think that if starting salary especially was higher it would encourage more young people to train to become a nurse....

When I trained you went to a school of nursing and received a salary. I worry with the only option being graduate entry that this puts off potentially fantastic nurses who are worried about the academic focus of a university. There is also the question of them starting off their nursing career with a student loan to pay off. There is no subsided accommodation anymore and so renting as a young nurse at the start of their career is a challenge. Towards the end of my career I had to live a long way out of London where my post was and it took me a minimum hour and a half to get into work and the same back - so not much time to sleep after a 12hr night shift on children's intensive care. No nurse ever wants to strike but something needs to happen if they are ever going to be recognised for the tremendous skills many of them have - often akin to a doctor! Maybe MPs could reconsider their salaries and perks - inc accommodation!!

Nursing seen as a ‘vocation’ so that means they shouldn’t expect a decent wage What nonsense LadyleftoverLover

My niece is paid for 12 hour shifts, but she is NOT paid for the 1/2 hour handovers at either end of the shift!

thanks Casdon for the info. I do agree that nurses should get a reasonable increase - not over the rate of inflation though. There are many public sector workers that deserve a pay rise, eg teachers and teaching assistants. I don't agree with the nurses striking as I think of all the poor people who would be affected by it, and I believe that they should put their patients first.

Sorry @ ladyleftfield are you serious? Decent wages weren’t expected ? What planet do you live on? Something can be a vocation AND you can expect a decent wage. I’m disgusted by your comment.

yes I support the nurses and we shold put a plan to stop agencie nurses at very high pay which the nurses do not recieve asnd asgences should not recieve inflated wages

Exactly. I agree wholeheartedly .

Of course they need to strike if they want to be noticed. At the moment they are taken advantage of.

Striking does not sit easy with me but I support the nurses in their strike action. My daughter is one of those "natural nurses." She is a Diploma nurse who was extremely fortunate to receive a bursary and is now 10 years qualified and at the top of her pay scale. However in the current pay scales her particular specialty is not recognised for its complexity and skills required, yet she is paid the same as a 10 year qualified registered nurse who runs an outpatient clinic every day and deals mainly with paperwork. She is expected to work as a lone practitioner who assists the Consultant during out of hours life saving procedures and is On Call for at times 3 consecutive 24 hour periods. She is qualified in Advanced Life Support, a qualification some junior doctors find difficult to pass and just last week had to perform CPR during a procedure. If you have ever witnessed such an incident you will appreciate just how much it affects everyone involved.

She has often joked about getting a job in Tesco or Aldi where the hourly pay is not that far off what she is currently earning. Maybe she will one day .... but what a waste!