Herefordshire A&E nurse calls for respect and better pay

Amy Rowberry said there had been a clear increase in abuse aimed at nurses in the last two years

A Herefordshire accident and emergency nurse says a pay rise is "long overdue" and her profession needs to be shown greater respect.

Amy Rowberry backs the possibility of strike action in the UK by union the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) in its fight for an above inflation pay rise.

She said abuse from patients was on the rise and the stress of the job left had her asking herself why she did it.

The UK government said strike impact should be "carefully considered".

"You could go and work in a supermarket for the same money," the nurse said.

Mrs Rowberry said she was able to make ends meet because her husband had a well-paid job, but added some colleagues were struggling with rising bills.

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She has worked as a nurse for 10 years and in accident and emergency for seven. She said: "I love helping people, I love being there to support people, helping them through their dark times."

'Why do I do it?'

But she said while she would not leave nursing, she was reluctantly looking for work in another part of the NHS because it was "just not a nice place to work any more".

She said: "I've never ever encountered such abuse as in the last 18 months, two years."

Mrs Rowberry said: "You come home to your family stressed out, upset, it takes out a great toll on nurses."

She said she often asked herself: "Why do I do it?"

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The RCN, which represents about 300,000 nurses, has said any strike action would only affect nurses in non-urgent care and those needing emergency care would not be affected.

It is looking for a pay rise of about 5% above inflation.

The UK government said the RCN should "carefully consider" the impact on patients of any strike.

Mrs Rowberry said no nurse would want to affect patient care, but argued: "This pay increase I think is long overdue, it is more than fair, with the way the cost of living is."

She said unless nurses were shown more respect and given better pay, there could be a shortage in 10 years' time.