‘This election, change is necessary and improvement is possible’ – Nursing Times

With little time left before we go to the polls, nursing and the NHS have become crucial battlegrounds in the election campaign.

But too often, those at the eye of the storm the health workers themselves have been locked out of this debate. The NHS has imposed strict rules on speaking out and high-profile politicians have been able to throw around figures with little understanding of the issues involved.

The Conservatives, whove overseen the worst-ever deterioration in the health services performance, have tried desperately to make us forget it was their own decisions that contributed to the staffing crisis.

"Our code asks us to make the care of people our primary concern and gives us a duty of candour to patients and the public"

Were all used to fighting for our patients, whether thats chasing adequate pain relief or insisting on a private side room so someone can die with peace and dignity. Were also a highly skilled profession, accustomed to managing complex clinical situations and generating our own research and evidence.

Our code asks us to make the care of people our primary concern and gives us a duty of candour to patients and the public. We have a fundamental responsibility, as the most trusted profession in the UK, to be brave, to tell the truth, to fight for the public and to become active participants in the argument over the direction of the country.

Not long ago I was called one morning to assess a very sick woman. She was on the verge of a cardiac arrest so I instigated an emergency response. After we stabilised her on the ward we waited for an intensive care bed to become available.

I monitored her closely, waiting with her for hours. And hours. And hours. She became more tired and more unwell, her familys anxiety grew, but there were no suitable beds to move her to, as the hospital was full.

By late afternoon, when we were finally able to move her, shed deteriorated badly. She was fortunate to survive. Feeling guilty and concerned, I sought out her family to apologise. They were angry but understood it wasnt the fault of the staff involved.

"The underfunding of the NHS and social care has been a deliberate choice"

Similar incidents have happened throughout the country and many patients wont have been so lucky. Nurses will have beaten themselves up and gone home in tears after being unable to care for their patients as well as they would have liked.

It doesnt have to be this way. The underfunding of the NHS and social care has been a deliberate choice.

Weve heard the claim repeatedly that a growing economy is the most important consideration for the health service. This is nothing but a convenient excuse for inaction from those for whom increasing private wealth is always the only priority.

In the UK we built the NHS at a time of weakness after the catastrophe of war. Other, poorer countries such as Thailand have chosen to extend to universal health coverage despite facing tough economic times.

Great advances like these are possible when we believe in ourselves, when we organise and build successfully, and most importantly, when we show we care for others.

In other words, our society needs to rediscover commitment, competence and compassion core nursing values to rescue the NHS and social care.

There are hundreds of thousands of registered nurses and midwives across the UK who demonstrate these values every day.

Rather than just being the subject of political debate or being rolled out for photo opportunities, we need you more than ever before to convince the country that change is necessary and improvement is possible.

With the numbers of undecided voters still high, we could make all the difference.

Stuart Tuckwood is national nursing officer, UNISON

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'This election, change is necessary and improvement is possible' - Nursing Times