Derry nurses strike for better pay

Nurses in Northern Ireland, England and Wales are striking for a five per cent pay increase plus inflation in the biggest strike since the NHS began.

RCN representative and Trade Union Secretary for the Western Trust, Andrew Doherty, said: “Nurses here in the north are not paid fairly. We believe that the lack of a good pay deal and the lack of fair pay for nurses has a massive impact on the recruitment and retention of nurses. We currently have approximately 3000 nursing vacancies and within Altnagelvin, we’ve had over 200 nurses leave in the past six months. We’re here to get a pay increase so we can protect our patients with more nurses on the ward.

"We understanding that striking will cause disruption for our patients and we don’t want that, we would rather be in work looking after patients but we’re doing this to try and fix the broken system as best we can, by getting better pay which will help recruit and retain more nurses to provide better care. Every day, in every hospital, in every Trust, procedures are cancelled because there aren’t enough nurses to provide the care. There’s overcrowding in A&E and patients are waiting very long to be seen.”

Nurse Josephine Friel said: “Systemically, nursing has always been paid unfairly. We’re picketing here today because we’re struggling with the cost of living and we haven’t been paid fairly for a number for years. There’s a lot of anger in the profession against the government because we’re not being listened to.

"We’re no longer sacrificing our well-being or sense of self for the work that we do. I know my colleagues are struggling; we’re all working extra shifts just to pay our bills, heat our homes and put fuel in the car.

"Thanks to the public, the local services and local community for all their support during this strike. People are sending food and hot drinks and even people beeping their horns and it really shows the community spirit here.”

See more pictures of the strike here.