: “It’s a continuing and public devaluing of the work we do”.
He thought the one-off bonus, described as being related to nurses’ care during Covid, was “insulting” when problems stretched back years and led to“It’s been 10 years of defunding, underfunding and eviscerating the NHS,” he said. “This is our one real chance to get this right – it’s not about me, it’s about the future of the NHS and the people who don’t want to become a nurse now,” she said.the latest offer was “neither fair or reasonable”, adding: “Our nursing staff have made that quite clear.”She described RCN members as “selfless” for rejecting a bonus in favour of addressing longer-term issues such as staff retention.
“We didn’t leave one penny behind us on the table when those negotiations closed. But there were other elements of that deal which were really important for our profession.”