Tearful A&E patient begs Rishi Sunak to 'pay staff fairly' after 8-hour wait
An A&E patient captured the mood of the nation when she posted a heartfelt message to Rishi Sunak on Bank Holiday Monday.
The woman, known on Twitter as Mystic Chez, recorded herself speaking directly to the Prime Minister, urging him to pay NHS staff fairly.
She was exhausted after waiting through the night to be seen at A&E, and was still yet to be triaged after an eight-and-a-half wait.
The Twitter user said she arrived at 10.30pm on Sunday night, April 30, and was still waiting at 7am on the following day.
The patient's heartfelt plea came on the very same day that nurses staged their latest walkout over fair pay (Thomas Krych/ZUMA Press Wire/REX/Shutterstock)She said during her touching video: "Morning Rishi. I've been sat in A&E since 10.30pm last night.
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"It's currently 7am and I've still not been triaged.
"Please... please, please, please pay your staff fairly. Please."
The patient's heartfelt plea came on the very same day that nurses staged their latest walkout over fair pay.
The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) announced its members would be striking from 8pm on Sunday April 30 until 8pm on Tuesday May 2.
Monday was also the first day of industrial action that saw both emergency department and intensive care nurses walk out.
Furious nurses gathered outside London's University College Hospital chanting that "enough is enough", while thousands of others strike around the country.
Furious nurses gathered outside London's University College Hospital chanting that "enough is enough" (Thomas Krych/ZUMA Press Wire/REX/Shutterstock)Cancer care staff nurse Preya Assi, 36, said: "This is a culmination of our pay not reflecting the hours we are working.
"The last decade has made things considerably worse. Our colleagues are out in force because things have got so bad that we cannot pay our rent or our bills, we are relying on food banks.
"We have spent the last few years fighting the pandemic. It matters to us and the care we provide matters to us. The fact the Government are not looking at our pay has caused us to do this."
Elsewhere, University College Hospital intensive care nurse Juliannah Adewumi, 70, began her career in Nigeria.
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She's spent 40 years working in Africa, Australia, America and England.
She said: "It's a profession that I love. I love caring for people, and when I started the job it was not like this.
"The money was small, but it was sufficient, and we were proud of being a nurse.
"The definition of nursing is about caring for people and making them comfortable if they are at the end of their lives, but how is that possible when there is one nurse having to look after 10 patients at a time because we're short-staffed?
"How am I supposed to live? If I don't pay my council tax, they take me to court, or if I don't pay my rent, I lose my home.
"At 70 I'm still working; what life is that? They are clapping for us but refuse to pay us properly. If they [politicians] were here, I would tell them to their faces.
"If you were in any other country, they do not play with their nurses. Yesterday we were short of two nurses and there was one nurse looking after 12 patients."
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