We are a more than a month into our Summer of Protest in this phase of the Royal College of Nursing’s #scrapthecap campaign. The response we have had from the public and media has been heart-warming – so we are writing to thank everyone for their support. It really means the world to us all.

However, the Government are still not listening. They continue to put safe patient care and services at serious risk by choosing not to address the nursing shortages that our health services are facing. Until the profession is valued by the Government vacancies will remain unfilled as nursing staff leave the NHS and others choose not to join the profession. This will impact on every person who will at some point require care in the NHS.

We can assure you that every member of the nursing team want to be there for you, to provide you with the highest quality of care but to do this they need to enough registered nurses and allied health care professionals including health care assistants in post and we need to stop vacancies increasing further.

Pay is an important part of this as RCN members are telling us that they are having to take on extra shifts, not only to financially survive, but also to cover shifts on their wards as extra hours to ensure safe staffing numbers for their patients. Our nurses are working themselves into the ground to care for patients but an NHS run on staff goodwill is not sustainable. It is not safe and it is not what patients deserve.

Please continue to support our campaign – write to your MP telling them to scrap the cap on NHS pay; engage with us on social media or simply smile when you see us!

Lors Allford

and Vicky Brotherton

Royal College of Nursing Council members South West region