Nurses and supporters on the picket line

Striking for a safer NHS

Nurses and supporters gathered on the roadside opposite the Conquest Hospital from 8am on this very cold and frosty Wednesday morning. Erica Smith made her way up to The Ridge to find out what was driving Royal College of Nurses’ members to strike for the first time in history.

As I walked up to the crowded picket line at noon today, I could hardly hear the speakers because of the noise from passing cars and vans as they honked their support for the striking nurses. At the peak of the rally there was a crowd of at least 150 people. Initially, it was hard to tell who were nurses and who were supporters because everyone was so wrapped up to keep warm. Eventually I found myself talking to a group of three young nurses.

“Begging for a safer NHS”

They told me that they were feeling really nervous about striking and were reluctant to give their names or have their photographs taken. I asked them what had driven them to make the decision to walk out. They said that they were currently being asked to do 12.5 hour shifts  on a ward where there should be seven nurses working at any one time, though there were often only three. That means that they are each doing the work of two people, in stressful conditions and for similar pay levels to those that they would earn working in retail.

But pay was not the driving force behind their decision to join the strike. They were all very aware that the current conditions within the NHS mean it is not safe for the patients that they are looking after, and that the situation is unsustainable.

Another nurse working in intensive care said that every day she witnesses people die because they are not being given the level of attention that they need to survive. There is a desperate need for more nurses, and it is not going to be possible to recruit professional staff unless there is a significant improvement in pay and terms of employment.

The strike continues tomorrow, Thursday. Two more days of action are planned for 6 and 7 February. On 1 February, a national day of action has been called by all unions to support the right to strike. Meanwhile ambulance workers are planning to strike on 6 and 20 February and 6 and 20 March unless negotiations with government are successful.

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