RCN General Secretary Pat Cullen, speaking in the final hours of the current strike and ahead of the NHS Staff Council meeting on Tuesday, said:
“Deep concerns over patient safety should be aired every day, not only on the day of a strike. Today was a reminder that our action is always safe and has a belief in safe patient care at its core. Nursing staff are fighting for a stronger NHS that has enough nurses – a health service able to fill the tens of thousands of vacant jobs.
“The hundreds of nurses I met today at five different hospitals had the energy and determination for the months ahead. The government must not underestimate their resolve. The majority of our members voted to reject the deal and to keep campaigning for something better.
“Tuesday’s meeting with Steve Barclay appears a foregone conclusion. Different unions and different professions came to different, but respectable, conclusions on this pay offer. The deal being accepted by others does not alter the clear fact that nursing staff, as the largest part of the NHS workforce, remain in dispute with the government over unfair pay and unsafe staffing.”
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