Afford the bus in

Nurses reveal low salaries at heart of strikes 111 Call handler People shout at you & at the same time I’m running on credit cards

NURSES will strike for two days next month in the biggest walkout in NHS history.

Many do not want to and would like nothing more than to care for their patients.

But union members say the 5% pay offer is a real-terms cut and they must make a stand.

Some NHS workers warn they are forced to survive on canteen leftovers and cannot afford to turn their heating on. Others say patient safety is at risk due to understaffing.

Here four NHS workers explain the intolerable situation fuelling the action.

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For seven years Murad Ali, 49, has worked as a NHS 111 call handler.

There was once satisfaction to be gained from ensuring worried patients received the right help, but now the fatherof-two is overwhelmed.

He describes a relentless working environment. During his six-hour shift, he takes back-to-back calls with just one 15-minute break, he claims.

He estimates that is usually 21 to 22 assessments during each shift which can vary in their complexity.

The work is so intense Murad finds he can no longer manage more than six hours.

Especially now, as patients are so frustrated with waiting times Murad is regularly abused, often racially, because of his British-indian accent.

For this he earns under £11 an hour, which now means he can’t cover his family’s outgoings without a credit card he can never pay off.

You can hear the strain in his voice as he claims 111 queues at weekends have ranged from 670 people to 850 in recent weeks.

“It can be very distressing and we take all the flack,” says the GMB union representative for Barking.

“People shout at you, I have been called names and heard ‘People like you should not be working for the

NHS’,” he says.

“At the same time I’m running on credit cards now. It is a worry,” he sighs, struggling to find adequate words.

“I will strike,” he says. “It’s too exhausting, too stressful.”

Nurses in pay protest in London and, left, Mirror this month