Responding to the Prime Minister's comments that "we have enormous gratitude for our nurses" but that the RCN's pay claim is "unaffordable", RCN General Secretary and Chief Executive, Pat Cullen, said:
“Gratitude is not enough – it doesn’t pay the bills and it doesn’t stop nursing staff leaving the profession because they can no longer afford to be a nurse.
"No nurse ever wants to strike, but we have been forced into this situation because low pay is pushing nursing staff out of the profession and putting patient care at risk.
“And at the same time, billions of pounds is being spent on agency staff to plug huge workforce shortages. Temporary staff have vital roles in providing safe care but they should not be continually used to offset a shortfall in permanent staff.
“The government needs to think again in this week’s statement - investing in nursing staff is investing in patients and the health of our country.”
Ends
