Striking is the right thing to do

On the eve of our first day of strike action, our General Secretary Pat Cullen is getting ready to travel across the country to be by your side on picket lines tomorrow. She has asked me, as the new Director of Nursing here at the RCN, to share with you some final important points.

Until just this month, I was working in the NHS. I was Chief Nurse for 10 years at three acute hospitals. I know striking is a big decision, so I wanted to reassure you about a few things.

• This is ground-breaking. There has never been a moment for nursing like this in the UK. We are using our voice on behalf of all nursing staff and patients. It’s time to for us to be valued and listened to.
  
  If you’re working in the NHS, it's so important that you’re part of this. Everyone in nursing sees clearly the threat that low pay and unsafe staffing poses to our profession.
  
  
• Although this is difficult, personally and professionally, this is the right thing to do. Senior nurses like me and many others support these strikes. They are legal and responsible. The Nursing & Midwifery Council supports your right to strike, and our action will remain within the Code of Conduct at all times.
  
  
• Patient safety is always our top priority. We’ve been clear that life-preserving services will continue, including emergency and intensive care, chemotherapy, cancer surgery, dialysis and insulin provision, to name just a few (read more). We recognise that everybody is nervous about strike action, but you have voted overwhelmingly to have your voice heard.
  
  If your department or service has been made exempt from strike action with our support –known as derogation – it’s so important that you follow that decision. Rest assured, you're still supporting the strike if you're derogated.

We’re doing this safely and responsibly – our patients are at the centre of every decision we make. Remember why we’re striking: It’s our professional right, and it’s our professional future we’re fighting for.

We will be with you at every stage.