Watch: see chants and support for nurses on picket lines
Posted 06 February 2023 - 15:22
Nurses are receiving plenty of help from TV doctors, brass sections and more as the voice for fairer pay grows ever louder across England
Chants, car horns and musical instruments could all be heard on picket lines across England on the biggest day of strike action in NHS history.
A Florence Nightingale lookalike joined the picket line outside University College London Hospitals NHS Trust (UCLH), wearing a traditional uniform and apron, and equipped with a megaphone.
TV doctors show up to support nurses
TV presenter Dr Chris van Tulleken, who hosts programmes with identical twin brother Dr Xand, shared a video of a huge picket line outside UCLH where RCN members chanted ‘Nurses aren’t just for COVID, they’re for life.’
“Nurses aren’t just for Covid, they’re for life”
— Chris van Tulleken 🏳️🌈 (@DoctorChrisVT) February 6, 2023
Inspiring to stand with my nursing colleagues lawfully withholding their labour again today for fair pay and to make long term conditions better for everyone #NursesStrike @uclh @theRCN pic.twitter.com/3pnRnFWX9y
In Lancaster nurses were ‘brassed off’ as trombone and horn players, and drummers, joined members outside the University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust picket line as they played their own take on ‘As the saints go marching in’, replacing the word ‘saints’ with ‘nurses.’
#RCNStrike by @RCNLancWest members at the RLI @UHMBT. Great support from the Trust & from the public. #FairPayforNursing #nursing #NHS pic.twitter.com/ALOQZoK1fQ
— Shane Byrne (@shaniepoo2000) February 6, 2023
Meanwhile, braving the freezing temperatures early on Monday morning, members of the RCN outside St Thomas’ Hospital in central London could be seen chanting in the shadow of Big Ben, with the Houses of Parliament looming behind.
What do they want? “Fair pay”. When do they want it? “Now”. #NursesStrike #nhsstrikes @LBC @LBCNews pic.twitter.com/CAqdHyLGTw
— Lottie Morley (@lotmor) February 6, 2023
Here’s a round-up of some of our favourite videos:
Bert is our fave Rep, EVER!
— NHS Workers Say NO! (@NurseSayNO) February 6, 2023
A day on strike is a long day out in the cold with no pay, but he’s doing an awesome job of keeping everyone’s spirits up at #UCLH 💙#NHSStrikes #NursesStrike pic.twitter.com/nMpp0pxjEe
1,2,3,4 we need nurses on the floor
— Harry Eccles (@Heccles94) February 6, 2023
5,6,7,8 HCAs are really great#FairPayforNursing #NursesStrike #nhsstrikes @SouthEastRCN pic.twitter.com/RyPMDL6frs
Great turnout @UHD_NHS for the @theRCN industrial action. Reporters from @BBCRadioSolent and @BBCSouthNews listening to nurses stories about why they are striking #nursestrike #FairPayforNursing #SafeStaffingSavesLives pic.twitter.com/Q1xj300sEJ
— BJ Waltho (@bjgw) February 6, 2023
Keeping our spirits up at Chapel Allerton @LeedsHospitals #FairPayforNursing #enoughisenough@jomargwhite @theRCN pic.twitter.com/iExYSxyblq
— Suzanne Rogerson (@Suzanne_Leeds) February 6, 2023
📢 Sound on! Claps don’t pay the bills 👏 Great turnout again in Brighton. It shouldn’t take this to get fair pay. #RCNStrike #FairPayforNursing pic.twitter.com/JzQ2afv895
— South East RCN 💙 (@SouthEastRCN) February 6, 2023
1,2,3,4,5
— Keep Our NHS Public (@keepnhspublic) February 6, 2023
KEEP OUR NHS ALIVE #FairPayforNursing ✊ pic.twitter.com/BSVf0eR8HF
Nurses tell prime minister how it is
Finally the RCN shared a moving video that showed nurses sharing what they would say to Rishi Sunak if they got one minute with him:
"Do you really care about the NHS? Will you keep the NHS as it was always intended to be? Prove it to us."
— The RCN (@theRCN) February 6, 2023
This is what nursing staff would say to PM @RishiSunak if they had one minute with him.
It's exactly what has led to the #RCNStrike.
RT in solidarity with nursing. pic.twitter.com/WfAzy97Yqi
One lead nurse, Colin, said Mr Sunak needed to spend time with nurses ‘working with dying children, and working with the elderly’ who will die on their own without action. He spoke of the anguish that nurses are going through trying to do the best they can.
Another nurse, Rose, challenged him to do one long shift with her to truly understand how ‘very grim’ it is at work.
In other news