Low pay and unsafe staffing levels are driving NHS staff out of the workforce in their thousands. It can’t go on like this
I wanted to be a nurse after seeing multiple members of my family being treated by the NHS. I also had multiple surgeries as a teenager under the NHS, and the treatment I received was second to none. The staff I remembered the most were the nurses. They were the ones who comforted me and my family when we were scared and made sure the care I needed was delivered. I actually went on a placement as a student to the hospital where I was treated, and was amazed to find that the nurses who had cared for me still remembered me years later.
I love my job – how could I not when it is literally making sure other people’s children are well? But in my 10 years in nursing, I had seen cracks in the service widening long before the pandemic blew them wide open. The pressures on staff are now just too much. This, coupled with yet another pay deal that does not even keep me afloat, means the time for talking has stopped. For these reasons, I will be going on strike.
Jodie Elliott is a senior staff nurse who works in central London
