Since the introduction of the NHS, a pressing discussion point has been the poor amount of money that the hard working nurses are being paid for their extreme efforts in attempting to care for the people of our country. Behind the scenes, over 500,000 nurses are working tirelessly to ensure that we receive the most efficient healthcare and yet their efforts are vastly under appreciated within our society. This issue has become even more prominent in this current time period as we are facing a colossal pandemic of disease and many nurses are being forced to sacrifice their own lives to save many others. It is not fair.
Let me begin with discussing the Coronavirus pandemic, however this will not be my only talking about as nurses have been heavily ignored for many centuries before this. However, during this petrifying period in history, nurses are working night and day to protect us. I have to admit that people are showing their respect by hanging rainbows in their windows and holding regular events where people clap from their front doors to show their appreciation to all key workers risking their lives and their family’s’ lives. But does not help them when they need to pay their mortgage or pay for food every day. They need more money to support their families because many people aren’t able to work due to social distancing restrictions. Something needs to change and the money they earn needs to increase immensely or the people that are most crucial to us will be left in a devastating position.
Furthermore, the unjust distribution of incomes across jobs that people have is becoming ridiculous. A footballer can earn millions in a mere month but that is more than many nurses will earn in their lifetime. A newly qualified nurse would earn approximately £23,000 a year which is not nearly enough for the amount of hours they are being forced to put into their jobs and the emotional distress they are put under when dealing with patients on a daily basis. According to a recent article, the reason nurses are paid so low is because they are perceived to be working at an entry-level standard and so don’t deserve a higher pay that minimum wage; this is a common opinion as many people feel as though they should not be paid more than the average person. I find this shocking. How can people not realize that nurses and all other staff in the medical industry are devoting their lives to save others?
A patient that recently experienced being inside an NHS hospital reported that their “main nurse worked from 7am to 8.30pm”, which exceeds any other job that is earning an equal pay. For example, nurses earn a similar pay to people who work 7 hour days when they are devoted an entire 24 hours to their jobs. How is such an injustice towards a group of people being ignored by the entirety of society in the UK?
In the next few years we need to begin to make a change. The wages of nurses need to rise by a significant amount and we need to show more appreciation towards the people who are making our world a better place. Will you be joining myself and many others to pursue justice for the nurses of the NHS?
By Joe Clements
