CASE STUDIES

AMBULANCE WORKER EDDIE BRAND, 56,

said his colleagues felt

“completely taken for granted”.

The emergency medical technician from London said:

“People gave up days off and did huge amounts of overtime to help. We saw it as a national effort.

“When I heard the Government was planning a 1% pay rise, I was shocked. I thought after that terrible year, they’d recognise our efforts.

“People put their lives on the line to help others and my colleague died from it, aged just 48. Morale has fallen through the floor.”

DEPUTY WARD MANAGER CLAIRE TURNER

qualified as a nurse in 2009.

But the 36-yearold said she is yet to enjoy a pay increase in line with inflation.

Claire, from

Southend, Essex, said: “People have left in droves because of pay all my career. But this was before hurtling into a poorly-managed pandemic – one for which we’ve not had the right PPE and been in constant anxiety.

“So when people spout ‘You know what you signed up for’, let me assure you, we didn’t. If we knew then what we know now, lots of us wouldn’t have bothered.”

LEEDS INTENSIVE CARE NURSE SARA BARNES

said: “I’ve seen the horror of the pandemic at firsthand but it is this pay offer that has caused me to cry for the first time.

“I feel completely demoralised, undervalued and just sickened 1% is what the Government thinks the past year is worth.

“I spend my days dreading what the next shift will be like. I would 100% strike – I’ve had enough.”

Sara, 28, who has worked huge amounts of overtime in the past year, added: “Nurses, including myself, are considering leaving for the first time.”