[Politics] The Sun - nurses ?

[Berty23]

As others have said, your chemo and radio comment is wrong; the Loose Women comment is just insulting.

My take is that nurses don’t go into the profession for shits and giggles and to make some money, they do it because they genuinely want to help. Given this, and the nature of the job, it must take a hell of a lot for them to want to strike. I trust their judgment and support them 100%.

This is how I feel. People say “they do it for the love of it” but then when you say “would they do it full time for nothing?” They say “of course not” so then you ask them what they think they are worth and can’t believe it when you point out the wages of a newly qualified nurse. They have never done this before. They are under ridiculous pressure and they can’t recruit the staff they need.

The alternative of striking is to plough on as it gets worse and worse. They have to say enough is enough at some point.

 

[Peacehaven Wild Kids]

I'm an ex-nurse. My husband's an NHS nurse still. Neither of us believe this strike is justified or fair. Nursing has never been a highly paid job, it's hard work, and you have to do and see nasty stuff sometimes. You don't join the profession to earn loads of cash or for an easy life, but it has other, immense, rewards. I'm not politically minded, they're all tits, and God knows whose or what's fault it is that we find ourselves as a nation in the state we're in now (although I have my own suspicions). Most ordinary, working people are suffering to a greater or lesser degree at present, most people can do little to alleviate it. Those nurses who are choosing to strike are basically holding everyone else to ransom. If every nurse in the country gets a 17% pay rise, then the rest of us are royally f***ed, its just not affordable. Playing the "woe is me, I'm an NHS hero, don't you know" card is frankly a bit nauseating in my opinion.

are you the same one that had thier “cards on the table” as a 75 Grand a year Postman/Train Driver/Nurse/McDonalds employee?

 

[The Clamp]

The Tory’s won’t give anyone anything unless they fight for it. And fight tooth and nail.

The squeaky wheel gets the oil.

 

[Is it PotG?]

The Tories won’t give anyone anything unless they fight for it. And fight tooth and nail.

The squeaky wheel gets the oil.

In 18 months time we'll be in safe hands, all in the garden will be rosy and there SHALL be jam for tea.

 

[Weststander]

an interviewee claimed this morning they'd gone up to grade 7 and only earned £100 more than when they started in 2007. the grades are all on line to see, no one verifies claims.

All the nurses we know, they all qualified in the early 00's are band 6 or 7, earning £38k to £47k. The lucrative pension scheme is on top of that, enabling a 25 or 30 year retirement where money should never be a worry.

I saw that interview, they said their net pay was less than in 2007. It doesn't stack up.

A former sister-of-law of mine was a highly qualified nurse at the old Royal Alex in 1995 on £14k. Under the radar, various governments not just Blair's gade substantial pay awards.

But I genuinely feel sorry for recently qualified nurses on mid-£20k's pay in this neck of the woods. That's no living.

 

[Weststander]

So is it basically, 'stick with it?'

The main alternative is nursing and care homes.

Paying a headline higher hourly rate, but with shit pension schemes and in our experience a zero sick pay policy from extremely greedy and disbelieving owners.

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

I'm an ex-nurse. My husband's an NHS nurse still. Neither of us believe this strike is justified or fair. Nursing has never been a highly paid job, it's hard work, and you have to do and see nasty stuff sometimes. You don't join the profession to earn loads of cash or for an easy life, but it has other, immense, rewards. I'm not politically minded, they're all tits, and God knows whose or what's fault it is that we find ourselves as a nation in the state we're in now (although I have my own suspicions). Most ordinary, working people are suffering to a greater or lesser degree at present, most people can do little to alleviate it. Those nurses who are choosing to strike are basically holding everyone else to ransom. If every nurse in the country gets a 17% pay rise, then the rest of us are royally f***ed, its just not affordable. Playing the "woe is me, I'm an NHS hero, don't you know" card is frankly a bit nauseating in my opinion.

I can’t say I’ve noticed anyone playing this card.

 

[LamieRobertson]

I'm an ex-nurse. My husband's an NHS nurse still. Neither of us believe this strike is justified or fair. Nursing has never been a highly paid job, it's hard work, and you have to do and see nasty stuff sometimes. You don't join the profession to earn loads of cash or for an easy life, but it has other, immense, rewards. I'm not politically minded, they're all tits, and God knows whose or what's fault it is that we find ourselves as a nation in the state we're in now (although I have my own suspicions). Most ordinary, working people are suffering to a greater or lesser degree at present, most people can do little to alleviate it. Those nurses who are choosing to strike are basically holding everyone else to ransom. If every nurse in the country gets a 17% pay rise, then the rest of us are royally f***ed, its just not affordable. Playing the "woe is me, I'm an NHS hero, don't you know" card is frankly a bit nauseating in my opinion.

100% with this

 

[Zeberdi]

I'm an ex-nurse. My husband's an NHS nurse still. Neither of us believe this strike is justified or fair. Nursing has never been a highly paid job, it's hard work, and you have to do and see nasty stuff sometimes. You don't join the profession to earn loads of cash or for an easy life, but it has other, immense, rewards. I'm not politically minded, they're all tits, and God knows whose or what's fault it is that we find ourselves as a nation in the state we're in now (although I have my own suspicions). Most ordinary, working people are suffering to a greater or lesser degree at present, most people can do little to alleviate it. Those nurses who are choosing to strike are basically holding everyone else to ransom. If every nurse in the country gets a 17% pay rise, then the rest of us are royally f***ed, its just not affordable. Playing the "woe is me, I'm an NHS hero, don't you know" card is frankly a bit nauseating in my opinion.

I agree that 17% is probably unaffordable but it was a starting negotiating figure and they have been offered 4% with the Government refusing to negotiate a penny more. The strikes are also, as have been pointed out ad nauseum by the more well informed members of NSC , not just about pay but staffing levels and working environment conditions.

I find your comment highlighted in bold ‘frankly a bit nauseating’ That whole fluffy clapping and praise campaign was initiated by Boris Johnson and fuelled by a story-starved media who basically only had Covid to report about for 18 mnths of periodic lockdown. The nurses and doctors didn’t want it - they wanted, what they needed, was for the public to follow guidance on social behaviour/self-isolating through the Pandemic and they wanted their colleagues to stop dying through a lack of adequate PPE or simply collapsing from exhaustion due to a lack of staff.

Banging lids of saucepans on the doorstep and clapping every Thursday was a great Tory Government PR tool to ‘manage’ these increasing frustrations of healthcare workers which were being effectively silenced by an overwhelming onslaught of flattery and back-slapping from the very people that should have been listening to them. Meanwhile, the great ‘British Public’ (who bought into the hype) were manipulated into believing the Tories were ‘looking after’ our ‘poor doctors and nurses’ for why else would our PM stand on the doorstep every Thursday with the Nation cheering? - what bollox - sorry but it was - All the Tories proved during Covid was their ability to hoodwink the public into thinking they had put the NHS on a nice high wooden pedestal but in reality showed how adept they were at at playing down the policies that were at the same time, methodically sawing the very legs off it.

 

[el punal]

On Wednesday I went arse over tit on some ice and landed on my hip. Ouch! Mrs.Punal took me to the “Walk In Centre” (Ha! Ha!) at the Royal South Hants hospital in Southampton. I was assessed within ten minutes and informed with a degree of certainty that I’d broken my hip and therefore should go to A&E at Southampton General.

I went through the normal routine of admittance - triage, and then wait for a doctor etc. What I will say is that the place was inundated with patients waiting, like me, for assessment and treatment. Although the whole process from arriving to leaving was the best part of seven hours I have absolutely nothing but praise for ALL the staff for their kindness, professionalism and dedication in such difficult circumstances.

Happily, at the end this somewhat traumatic episode I was relieved to be told that my X-Ray was clear and that nothing was broken - just very badly bruised.

Well done the NHS - you deserve better and hopefully, sincerely, no one ever takes you for granted. A national treasure indeed.

 

[Is it PotG?]

I agree that 17% is probably unaffordable but it was a starting negotiating figure and they have been offered 4% with the Government refusing to negotiate a penny more. The strikes are also, as have been pointed out ad nauseum by the more well informed members of NSC , not just about pay but staffing levels and working environment conditions.

I find your comment highlighted in bold ‘frankly a bit nauseating’ That whole fluffy clapping and praise campaign was initiated by Boris Johnson and fuelled by a story-starved media who basically only had Covid to report about for 18 mnths of periodic lockdown. The nurses and doctors didn’t want it - they wanted, what they needed was for the public to follow guidance on social behaviour/self-isolating through the Pandemic and they wanted their colleagues to stop dying through a lack of adequate PPE or simply collapsing from exhaustion due to a lack of staff.

Banging lids of saucepans on the doorstep and clapping every Thursday was a great Tory Government PR tool to ‘manage’ these increasing frustrations of healthcare workers which were being effectively silenced by an overwhelming onslaught of flattery and back-slapping from the very people that should have been listening to them. Meanwhile, the great ‘British Public’ (who bought into the hype) were manipulated into believing the Tories were ‘looking after’ our ‘poor doctors and nurses’ for why else would our PM stand on the doorstep every Thursday with the Nation cheering? - what bollox sorry but it was - All the Tories proved during Covid was their ability to hoodwink the public into thinking they put the NHS on a pedestal whilst at the same time being adept at playing down the policies that were at the same time, sawing the very legs off it.

If we can muddle our way through the next 18 months, then this Tory rule will be over and the new administration can set out a costed plan to make everything right.

 

[AstroSloth]

Yes, nurses fault, not Tory fault.

It's absolutely the Tories fault.

They blocked pay rise talks with the union because they don't want a compromise, they want an excuse to privatise the NHS.

 

[BadFish]

I know three nurses, and they pretty much all have said the same. I suppose it's because they are empathic by nature, they said, everyone is feeling the pinch at the moment, so we just need to dig deep again, as harming other humans is just not on our agendas.

Quite right they should wait until the economy picks up (they always get a raise then).

Perhaps a link to when the politicians get a raise, or the bankers get their bonuses, or the energy companies pay out huge dividends to their shareholders, or the government can afford to subsidise companies already making massive profits like shell.

Until a few of those things happen the nurses and other public workers can just tighten their belts and strap in for some more austerity.

 

[Is it PotG?]

It's absolutely the Tories fault.

They blocked pay rise talks with the union because they don't want a compromise, they want an excuse to privatise the NHS.

Do you believe that, compared to its inception back in the day, the NHS is now a viable business model in the current format?

How might you improve or adapt it?

 

[beorhthelm]

I agree that 17% is probably unaffordable but it was a starting negotiating figure and they have been offered 4% with the Government refusing to negotiate a penny more. The strikes are also, as have been pointed out ad nauseum by the more well informed members of NSC , not just about pay but staffing levels and working environment conditions.

it has indeed been raised ad nauseum. thing is, if their union were doing their job they'd support members to stop nurses doing extra unpaid work, forcing employers to address the issue properly. i think this a bigger issue than pay. instead they do nothing about the conditions, then raise it as part of a large pay demand. if RCN maybe started at say inflation and called on the government to request the pay review be re-examined (as a former member of that body suggests), they'd all step closer to a resolution more quickly.

 

[Guinness Boy]

In 18 months time we'll be in safe hands, all in the garden will be rosy and there SHALL be jam for tea.

Can mine be strawberry flavoured? The Brexit jam appears to have been made mostly from blood, dog wee and idiocy.

 

[dazzer6666]

All the nurses we know, they all qualified in the early 00's are band 6 or 7, earning £38k to £47k. The lucrative pension scheme is on top of that, enabling a 25 or 30 year retirement where money should never be a worry.

I saw that interview, they said their net pay was less than in 2007. It doesn't stack up.

A former sister-of-law of mine was a highly qualified nurse at the old Royal Alex in 1995 on £14k. Under the radar, various governments not just Blair's gade substantial pay awards.

But I genuinely feel sorry for recently qualified nurses on mid-£20k's pay in this neck of the woods. That's no living.

Daughter is a B6 (with an MSc) and not in that range….but agree the 2007 comment sounds wrong. As you say there is also a massive regional issue that can also be incredibly localised - where my daughter lives/works, a standard B6 salary is an excellent wage - her flat rental for example is £350/month, but if she moved just 30 miles North it would be easily more than double that but the salary would be the same. She wouldn’t be able to survive if she had to work in London.

I can fully understand the nurses anger when you see stuff like this advertised

 

[Lenny Rider]

A sad state of affairs when one of the vocational, caring, professions is forced to withdraw their labour.

For us NSC oldies who can remember strikes going back to the 70s and 80s, this is almost unique industrial action as I think the level headed section of the population won’t turn on the Nurses for the aforementioned reasons.

The only problem being could be the popular press turning the lemmings against them.

 

[AstroSloth]

Do you believe that, compared to its inception back in the day, the NHS is now a viable business model in the current format?

How might you improve or adapt it?

The biggest issue with the NHS is starting. Many nurses see they can go elsewhere and get the same pay without the horrific working conditions and trauma they might deal with.

If we actually taxed the wealthy enough we might be able to keep a functioning NHS.

Look at the Scandinavian countries that have higher taxes and better healthcare. They also tend to have universal basic income and better higher education programs.

 

[AstroSloth]

A sad state of affairs when one of the vocational, caring, professions is forced to withdraw their labour.

For us NSC oldies who can remember strikes going back to the 70s and 80s, this is almost unique industrial action as I think the level headed section of the population won’t turn on the Nurses for the aforementioned reasons.

The only problem being could be the popular press turning the lemmings against them.

The people turning on those who are striking haven't actually looked into why they're striking.

I've heard a lot about the rail strikes and how driver's earn £x amount a year when it's not the drivers who are striking, it's the rest of staff.