U.K. Nurses, Struggling To Pay Bills, Say Strike Is For Future Of Health Care

© Hannah Mackay/Bloomberg Medical staff transport a patient to the Royal Blackburn Teaching Hospital, run by East Lancashire National Health Service Trust, in May 2020 in Blackburn, England.

LONDON - When Lena Mylnen worked as a nurse at a British hospital, she struggled with her rent and other bills so much that she considered quitting her job altogether.

"I was completely exhausted and demoralized," he told The Washington Post. "Even though I work overtime, I've never been paid a day's pay," said the 32-year-old nurse.

That's why Britain's taxpayer-funded National Health Service – a venerable British institution and one of the world's largest employers – This is why, for the first time in the history of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN), the country's largest nursing union, many nurses across Britain have voted to strike this month. The strike is expected before the end of the year.

The pandemic, which has overwhelmed medical supplies around the world, has not spared the NHS, which has millions of patients waiting for treatment for a wide range of illnesses. And unprecedented funding pressures on the NHS due to the pandemic have affected access to healthcare, even for some medical staff.

Myelin, an NHS doctor, said his colleague was moved from ER to ER in search of a hospital bed when he developed severe pneumonia and blood clots. He remembers that he "slept on the floor (in the emergency room) for 12 hours" because of the lack of a bed.

"Working shortages caused by wages and working conditions affect us all," Melin added. "We're sick too."

Britain is experiencing the highest rate of inflation in 41 years, putting pressure on healthcare funding. A prolonged recession and rising energy prices have prompted warnings that people could face "the biggest drop in household incomes in generations," said Paul Johnson, director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies.

The nurses' union, which has hundreds of thousands of members, says the pay issue has exacerbated staff shortages and put patient safety at risk. Salaries for experienced nurses in England, Wales and Northern Ireland have fallen by 20% since 2010, according to RCN research.

Although British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak described a 17% pay rise for nurses - 5% on inflation - as "priceless", he said talks between the health minister and union leaders this week would help those affected. How can we find a solution for this? Health officials hope to reach an agreement to avert a series of strikes this winter.

When Liz Truss left office, Britain was demoralized by political and economic turmoil.

British government officials said the average pay rise of 4.75% for nurses in England next year was in line with the recommendations of the independent NHS pay body.

The plan would raise the base salary for nurses to nearly $44,000 from $42,000 in March 2022, a sharp increase that would fuel inflation and increase the nation's debt.

But everyone affected by the cost of living crisis, including paramedics, ambulance and cleaners, chose to join the nurses in the strike.

Leanne Patrick, a sexual abuse nurse at NHS Scotland, chose to strike the nurses not for themselves but for the challenges she sees in the predominantly female profession. The mother-of-two says nurses are not paid commensurately for their skills or the risks they pose and hopes the strike will make her voice heard.

Patrick said in the post that the pandemic crisis and the cost of living have caused health care facilities to "bleed" their workers after salary increases due to inflation and created a "tipping point."

Researchers found that the health care system in the United States ranks last among the 11 countries with the highest incomes

She said many nurses supported the strike "because we know it will affect not only us, but other nurses and ultimately patient care."

While understaffing prevents nurses from "providing a safe level of care," Patrick recognizes that nurses "care about patients at the end of the day."

And if the nurses were disappointed, "After all this heartache, 'Can I do something a lot less stressful ... for the same amount of time?' No wonder they ask," she added. "

After leaving the NHS last year, Mylinen, who works in the northern English city of Leeds, has moved into a private nursing role with charities and therefore did not take part in the NCR vote. But he described the decision as a "last resort" and said he believed it would help resolve the problem that had been building up for years.

"This attack is not selfish. It is about saving the NHS," he said. "... it's about our future health care."

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