London (Samaj Weekly)- Labour MP and Shadow Mayor Liam Byrne has written to the Prime Minister and Health Secretary demanding that nurses be given the pay-rise that they were promised and to rethink their derisory 1% pay offer to the nurses.
Byrne’s letter followed a harrowing meeting with members of the Royal College of Nursing, some of whom had come straight from their shifts to join an online call with two other Labour MPs Jack Dromey and Bridget Phillipson.
Nurses told the MPs that they were now exhausted after a year of intense pressure bought about by being short staffed, long hours and seeing patients struggling for their lives.
Liam Byrne said “I was staggered as nurses described feeling empty and exhausted. Some just cannot see how they will manage to get back on the wards in the future.
“Many of their experienced colleagues are leaving. They have had enough.
“They told us they felt numb when the news of their pay offer came through. After tax and national insurance it is the equivalent of the price of a cup of coffee.
“Nurses don’t need empty praise; they need a raise.”
“What shone through was their commitment, experience and skill. They really want the very best for their patients
“But what we also found, was their genuine shock and despair at the impact on themselves and their patients of the morale sapping government decision to offer nurses a derisory 1% increase.
“Everyone of us turns to the NHS when we are most in need. Now they are turning to us. We must meet them with the care, compassion and dedication that they are famous for.
