Blog: The UK government must invest properly in our nurses

UNISON is supporting the theme of Investing in Nursing for this year’s International Nurse’s Day, by demanding change in the UK. I’m proud to lead a union with a strong history in nursing. We have so many inspiring nurse members who supported their patients and communities through the pandemic. It was May Parsons, a UNISON nurse, who delivered the first COVID vaccination in the world outside of clinical trials, paving the way for the mass programme which has saved millions of lives and returned our freedoms. But it’s not enough to just celebrate nursing, we have to demand investment in the profession to make sure we support and retain our nurses. The Westminster government wants the public to believe they’re recruiting and retaining enough nurses – but they’re doing nowhere near enough. At our recent health conference in Liverpool, it was so inspiring to hear so many speak about their work and experiences over the past few years. But our nurse members were also clear that things have got to change. They can’t nurse effectively and compassionately when they work in teams which are drastically understaffed. They can’t keep seeing colleagues leave because of the pressures they’re under. And they can’t keep doing more, while the value of their pay falls. The Conservatives’ failure to support our nurses deserves harsh scrutiny. They scrapped the nursing bursary in 2016, pulling the rug from under the whole profession by deterring students from joining. And ...
Source: UNISON Health care news - Category: UK Health Authors: Tags: General secretary's blog News Christina McAnea health nursing Source Type: news