UK

Nurses put at risk during pandemic, says union leader

Pat Cullen, general secretary of the Royal College of Nursing, has called for nurses to be fully involved in government inquiries into the Covid-19 pandemic
Pat Cullen, general secretary of the Royal College of Nursing, has called for nurses to be fully involved in government inquiries into the Covid-19 pandemic Pat Cullen, general secretary of the Royal College of Nursing, has called for nurses to be fully involved in government inquiries into the Covid-19 pandemic

NURSING staff were left at risk throughout the pandemic without clear guidance, effective testing or adequate personal protective equipment, according to a union leader.

Pat Cullen, general secretary of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN), called for nursing staff to be fully involved in UK and Scottish government inquiries into the pandemic.

A former director of RCN Northern Ireland, Ms Cullen led members in taking industrial action in 2019 for the first time in the college’s history.

She told the RCN’s annual congress in Glasgow yesterday that the inquiry must address the concerns of nursing staff.

The RCN confirmed it will apply for “core participant” status in the UK inquiry on behalf of its members.

She said: “The last 27 months have changed all of our lives. Many of you faced situations we hoped never to see.

“Too many incredible nursing staff had their lives cut brutally short and many others are living with the impact of the virus still today.

“The guidance was confusing. The testing was inadequate. The PPE was missing or poor. The consequences were fatal.

“You were let down by ministers throughout the pandemic.

“The Covid-19 inquiry must not just be about what they failed to do in the years before the pandemic, those early days or even the big moments of the last two years. It must look ahead.

“You gave more of yourselves than any-body could ever ask. The RCN will do justice to everybody’s experience these last two years.”

The RCN submitted its response to a public consultation on the UK government’s draft terms of reference, in which the college raised 34 points it said must be addressed.

These include preparedness for the pandemic; the management of Covid-19 in different care settings including hospitals, care homes and the community; failures in workforce planning; public information and communication and the long-term effects on nursing staff.

Ms Cullen also told delegates staffing levels will only improve if the government awards an above-inflation pay rise.

She berated ministers for sending out a “terrible message” on nurses’ pay, adding that nurses should never be embarrassed for asking to be paid “decently”.

In the coming days, governments across the UK will begin to announce the next round of NHS pay awards. Ms Cullen said that in the grips of a cost-of-living crisis, nursing staff are worried about how they are going to make ends meet.

A pay rise below the present rate of inflation this summer would be “another pay cut”, she said, adding: “When the cost of living is soaring, I know how frightened you are. People choosing between heating and eating, and it’s not even winter.

“People doing their community rounds by bus because they cannot fill the car.

“Your employers being put in the shameful position of opening in-house food banks for the staff. It is the politicians who are responsible and only they can address it."