Nurses across Bristol join their colleagues on picket lines today across England, Wales and Northern Ireland in the biggest strike in NHS history. Members of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) are holding picket lines outside the Bristol Royal Infirmary (BRI) and Southmead Hospital until 7pm tonight (December 15).
Alongside demands for better pay, nurses say they are taking strike action to ensure safety for patients. We spoke to nurses outside the BRI today who said that better pay would help the current staffing shortages and retention of new staff.
RCN General Secretary Pat Cullen, who visited striking nurses in Bristol today, said that nurses are acting with a “very heavy heart” in what has been a difficult decision in a “bid to be heard, recognised and valued”. In a meeting held with health secretary Steve Barclay several days ago, the union said he would not talk about pay.
