We’ve reached desperation point, say nurses as they vote on strikes

NURSES in London said they have reached the “point of desperation” as they prepared to vote on strike action for the first time in history over pay.

The Royal College of Nursing was today balloting 300,000 of its members after claiming NHS pay awards have failed to match the rising cost of living.

The real-terms earnings of nurses have fallen by six per cent compared with 3.2 per cent for private sector employees, according to analysis by London Economics conducted for the union. The sector has also been devastated by staffing shortages, with a 24 per cent rise in the number of nurses leaving the profession in London last year.

Nurses set to vote on strike action told the Standard they were frustrated at “being paid a pittance” despite an ever-growing workload.

Linda Tovey, an ICE nurse, told the

You go home feeling guilty – patients are being looked after by people being paid a pittance Linda Tovey, ICE nurse

Standard: “The problem with nursing is that you could be doing it for 20 years and your prospects for earning more are still limited — there are finite opportunities. People are also coming out of college with huge debt.

“My situation isn’t comfortable, my house is falling apart and I haven’t been on holiday in five years. I love being a nurse and I wouldn’t want to do anything else, but it’s increasingly difficult to do because you go home feeling guilty every night — patients are being looked after by people being paid a pittance.”

Amy Fancourt, 29, a nurse working in A&E, said: “London is ultimately unaffordable. Many people my age are leaving the profession to go to the Middle East or Australia because you make a lot more money over there. We have a leaving party every week.”

The Government has said NHS nurses will receive a £1,400 pay rise for 2022-23, well below what unions were calling for. Mark Farmer, of the RCN London region, said the offer was “pitiful”.

THE Royal College of Nursing today ballots 300,000 members on industrial action for the first time in its history.

The union wants a rise of RPI inflation plus five per cent, but staff in England and Wales are being offered an average of 4.75 per cent. People on lower wages, including NHS nurses, are feeling the cost-of-living crisis, and reeling from a mini-budget that did most for higher earners.

There is also a specific London problem. The capital suffers from the highest leaving rate for nurses and midwives of any English region. Evening Standard analysis found that 7,239 nurses left the health service in the capital in the year to June 2022 — a steep rise. Taking into account new starters, it means the NHS in London added just 547 nurses in the period, despite record waiting lists and what the Health and Social Care Select Committee calls the service’s “greatest workforce crisis”.

The Government must find a way to stem the bleeding. That starts with a reasonable pay settlement.