Our nurses are underpaid and overworked. Succesive governments have got away with it because of their unbelievable dedication to their patients, work colleagues and hospitals.
I have someone very dear to me who is nurse of unbelievable stature who inspired me to write this piece as I have seen her run ragged for years refusing to let a worsening situation get in the way you her dedication and compassion she gives to her patients. She runs between hospitals to fill in gaps and spends a fair amount of her downtime worrying what is happening when she is not on duty. She's a hero, the service has many and would be screwed without them.
It can't continue. It's appalling and I don't understand why have we allowed this to happen?
This is a national disgrace and one I don't see being addressed whoever wins the election.
There appears to be money available however it's seem to go to the top executives.
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/nhs-bonuses-chiefs-pocket-116-3553527
For years now I've been listening to halfwitted politicians using the NHS as a political football each party blaming the other for the perceived lack of funding in the service, and as austerity has been forced upon the UK's civil services. Every single one of them has been full of it as the pay and working conditions of our nurses has only ever got worse. But the same can't be said for the Managers.
This is from 2014.
I don't get it we all love nurses don't we? They're the ones giving us and our families comfort during our most vulnerable moments. I had a few hospital visits as a kid and one in particular as a teenager when the nurses were so cool it made what would have been a scary and humiliating experience bearable and I will be forever grateful. So why are we sitting by letting this situation continue. Austerity aside there is money to be distributed for wage increases however the nurses are getting stiched up while senior managers seem to be raking it in.
How is this fair?
Things have moved on since I was a kid, male nurses are now common and scrubs being the clothing of choice but I still have the romantic vision of the classic 70's nurse from British movies in my mind which gives me comfort should I end up in hospital.
Good ole Babs.
But I digress.........
The politicking is well under way in Britain now and the parties are making promises to nurses.
Labour. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-39711133
Liberal Democrats. http://www.standard.co.uk/news/politics/lib-dems-promise-end-to-pay-cap-as-nurses-threaten-strike-action-a3538831.html
SNP. https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2017/may/30/nicola-sturgeon-snp-mps-westminster-vote-against-nhs-england-funding-cuts
Recent history indicates that these promises will not be fulfilled as we have heard it all before. They'll be money thrown at the NHS but I for one am not confident it will end up in the pay packets of the most deserving. It will be wasted on more bureaucracy and bean counters. One of the parties was promising nurses a £700+ yearly wage increase! Are you kidding me?
And what are the current government offering the nurses, midwives and support staff?
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2017/may/30/nicola-sturgeon-snp-mps-westminster-vote-against-nhs-england-funding-cuts
http://www.express.co.uk/news/politics/811163/General-election-2017-conservative-manifesto-NHS-policy
I can't find anything positive from the Tories for nurses, the opposition parties are all going on about how things will get worse for the NHS and it's staff if they remain in government which to be fair is a good bet. However I have no confidence that things will change for the better for nurses whoever wins the election.
They are all aware that whether they keep their pledges or not the dedication of the staff means they will never let the service down which has always been the case and while that is undoubtably true it just ain't right.
It is our duty to stand up and demand our politicians finally do the right thing by our nurses, we can't let them down because they would never let us down.
This article is dedicated to "The Pantster" you know who you are, you're amazing and I love you.
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TremendosPercy
i wholeheartedly agree! my nephew is a nurse, i currently reside in a nursing facility. these people put in long hours with little 'thank you's', tremendous pressure from families, administration and patients/residents - i don't know how they do it, even though i see it up close and personal
I literally love nurses TP... MrsKnight is one. And at one point in time she was a NHS nurse in London. Keep fighting the good fight mate. SK.
I will buddy.
It's awful the way they're treated.
Nurses have a tough and demanding job.
In the states as well, I feel a lot of times that there is a great deal of the money wrapped up in administrative and executive costs - rather than with the people in the trenches.
Unfortunately we have not better situation in our country. The doctors and the teachers are the least paid category of workers. It's really sad.
The money wasted on war and destruction of poor countries by our government is horrific. How much do the bombs they use to murder innocent civilians cost? I'd like to see an end to the carnage and the money spent on investing in our own infrastructure to benefit the people that provide the funds. A naive hope but a moral one.