Nearly two thirds of the public strongly support strike action as concern over the number of nursing staff working in the NHS spikes, new polling from the RCN has found.
The polling shows 65% of the public support nursing staff taking strike action. Just one in two Britons are now confident in the quality of care available to them on the NHS, and the majority (79%) of respondents say they believe there aren’t enough nursing staff in the NHS to deliver safe patient care.
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‘The public stands with nursing staff as they know that when nurses speak, they speak for patients. It is for them that our members are voting to strike,’ said RCN General Secretary and Chief Executive Pat Cullen.
‘Nurses have already suffered a decade of real terms pay cuts, and many simply cannot afford to practise anymore. They are being forced to leave the profession and a chronic shortage of nursing staff is putting patients at risk.’
In the same poll, the public made it clear they do not support cuts to NHS spending. More than half (56%) said the NHS was among the top three areas of spending that must be protected, which is double the support given to any other spending area. Over half (52%) also suggested that current underfunding of the NHS is the primary cause of increased waiting lists for operations and other specialist NHS care.
‘Nursing staff are saying enough is enough, for our profession and for our patients. I urge any member who has not returned their ballot paper to do so now – every single vote counts. Don’t miss this historic opportunity to have your voice heard,’ added Ms Cullen.