I fix broken hearts for a living, but now the NHS needs fixing

Nurse Jodie Elliott tells Katie Strick why she’s voting to strike in the biggest ballot in the Royal College of Nursing’s 106-year history

I’VE been a paediatric nurse for nearly 10 years now, working everywhere from ICU to in theatres. I’d say I’ve developed a lot of patience and learnt to roll with the punches pretty well over that time, but I can categorically say the current NHS crisis is the hardest we’ve been hit so far, which is why I’ve voted in favour of the proposed nursing strikes.

The strike ballot is the biggest in the Royal College of Nursing’s 106-year history and voting closes tomorrow, with 300,000 of us invited to vote over the last month. I can assure you I have not signed up lightly. I love what I do. My team are amazing, I literally help to fix broken hearts for a living, and I have the privileged position of being part of some of the best and worst days of people’s lives — that’s why I went into nursing.

I never wanted to get to the point of striking, but we’re at breaking point and it feels like this is our last resort. The most experienced frontline nurses are now around £10,000 a year worse off in real terms than in 2008 and we’re dangerously understaffed, to the point where I worry it’s risking patient safety. That’s why we’re striking: not to risk patient safety, but to save it.