Bridlington nurses strike for first time in pay row

Nurses took to a picket line at Bridlington and District Hospital on Wednesday as part of the strike

Nurses in Bridlington have walked out for the first time in a row over pay and working conditions.

Members of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) union at the York and Scarborough Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust are holding two days of strikes.

The RCN is calling for a 19% pay rise, with members across England taking part in the industrial action.

The government said the demands were unaffordable and pay rises were decided by independent pay review bodies.

Susan Bannaghan said a qualified nurse with a degree was paid the same as a supermarket worker

Susan Bannaghan, a senior nurse who had joined the picket line outside Bridlington and District Hospital on Bessingby Road on Wednesday morning, asked: "Why can't the nurses in the NHS be paid better?

"You can get the same pay working in a supermarket as a qualified nurse with a degree."

Ms Bannaghan said newly qualified nurses were "just not earning enough to be at work and can't afford to be ill" given the current rise in living costs, with low wages having an impact on recruitment and retention of nurses.

"You're moving here, there and everywhere just to meet minimum staffing levels and I think patients deserve better than that from us.

"We love being nurses, but we just feel like we can't give the care we should be giving for patients because there's just not enough of us on the wards."

Nurses in Bridlington have joined a national walkout for the first time

Emma Taylor, an information specialist at the RCN, said: "The wages are way below inflation and they have been for many years.

"We need to address this urgently if nursing is to continue to be a sustainable profession."

She said if pay rises were not awarded then patient care could "only get worse".

"It really is life or death, quite frankly," she added.

Meanwhile, Sarah Dodsworth, the RCN's Northern, Yorkshire and Humber regional director, said more needed to be done to attract people to the profession.

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Two further strikes by members of the RCN are due to be held on 6 and 7 February.

A York and Scarborough Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust spokesperson said a number of operations and appointments had been postponed during the current action, with those patients affected having been contacted.

Urgent and emergency treatment would be prioritised during the strike action, the spokesperson added.

"We are working closely with union representatives to ensure plans are in place to maintain safe care for patients, while facilitating and respecting the right of those staff who wish to take legal industrial action," they said.