Nurses in north Norfolk have joined thousands of others across the country to strike for better pay and highlight a chronic shortage of health care staff.
Around 20 NHS workers and members of the public joined a picket line outside North Walsham Memorial Hospital on Wednesday to demand the government take action to safeguard healthcare staff and their patients.
Annette Yeomanson, a senior nurse in a community nursing team who lives and works in north Norfolk, was among those taking part in the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) strike.
Ms Yeomanson, a nurse for more than 30 years, said she had never considered striking before, but she now felt there was no other option.
She said: “What I have to remember is that as a registered nurse I am bound by a professional code of conduct.
"Part of that is to keep my patients safe and provide the very best level of care that I can. Nurses across the county are feeling that is compromised.”
Members of the public brought the strikers hot drinks and snacks, and passing motorists tooted their horns and called out words of encouragement.
The government is refusing to talk to the RCN about a pay rise, and health secretary Steve Barclay said “unaffordable pay rises” would stoke inflation and end up harming services.
But Ms Yeomanson said patients were being affected by the government’s lack of action.
She said: “Across England there are 47,000 nursing posts that aren’t covered. Last year approximately 25,000 registered nurses left the NHS. This leaves a massive gap in the workforce."
Ms Yeomanson said this meant nurses now had to prioritise and decide which patients to care for.
She said: “Not only is that detrimental to patients but it’s also detrimental to staff who are working currently in the nursing profession across all areas - hospital, community care, in mental health and learning disabilities.
"It almost causes us a moral distress having to make these decisions on a day-to-day basis.”
She said non-registered staff worked in the nursing teams also needed a pay rise, to reduce the number of people leaving.
“We have to make coming into the profession desirable and to do that we need to pay people fairly,” she said.
The two-day strike continues on Thursday.
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