Bristol student nurses say they worry about their future in the NHS

Ahead of the upcoming strikes, student nurses from Bristol say they are struggling to afford heating and rent on unpaid placements

Student nurses said they "worry about their future in the NHS" due to low pay, lack of support and understaffing.

Briony Davis is studying mental health nursing in Bristol and said she backed the upcoming strike over pay as she was struggling to afford her rent.

Walkouts have been announced by the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) in England on 15 and 20 December.

The government has previously announced average pay increases of 4.5% for doctors and 4.75% for other NHS staff.

Nurses are included in the 4.75% pay rise for other NHS workers in England next year.

Ms Davis said: "I am struggling to afford rent this month, everyone is exhausted and this is the last hope."

The 20-year-old is in her second year at the University of West of England (UWE).

She said she chose to go into nursing because she "always felt a desire to care for people", and when her mum was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, she felt it was time to follow her dream.

"I don't think people understand the real pressures of the job," she said.

Ms Davis said she supports the strikes

"Most of the nurses I have spoken to have been kicked, punched, racially abused and sexually assaulted."

Ms Davis said she was struggling to afford rent because her full-time placement was unpaid.

"The voices of nurses have been ignored and overlooked for such a long time now," she added.

The RCN union is calling for nurses to be given a pay rise of 5% above the RPI inflation rate, which was 14.2% in October.

Ms Davis lives with Lucy Farmer, 20, and Lizzie Haines, 23, who are also working in full-time, unpaid placements, alongside their studies at UWE.

Lucy Farmer said she felt there was "no other option" than to strike

Ms Farmer is also studying to be a mental health nurse, but with the cost of living crisis, she said she worried about her future in the NHS.

"For us there is no socialising, or doing anything that a typical student can do," she said.

"We can't afford to go out on nights out."

She said the three of them had to "get their pennies together" just to afford a weekly shop.

"I even have to pay for petrol to get to my placement, which I don't always get reimbursed for.

"It is a real struggle, especially at the moment, we can't afford to put the heating on sometimes."

Lizzie Haines said things needed to improve for nurses in the UK

Ms Haines is a second year student adult nurse.

"A lot of the girls (on the course) are single mums, it's a massive shame we have nursing students using foodbanks," she said.

"We don't get paid, not even for placements.

"The way things are now, I wouldn't leave nursing, but I would leave the NHS and go to another country where I might get treated better.

"It doesn't feel like we are valued here at the moment."

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