Nurses not given the time or resources to do their job

The poll was undertaken on behalf of the RCN and questioned over 1,500 people across the UK. Only 18 per cent of those surveyed agreed that nurses were paid well compared to other public sector workers such as police, teachers and fire fighters.

Other findings included:

• Half of the public surveyed believed that nurses were unfairly treated by their employers.
• Eight-seven percent felt that nurses were valued by the public and 81 per cent said nurses were trusted by the public.

Dr Beverly Malone, General Secretary of the Royal College of Nursing, said: ‘It is clear from this survey that the public really do value and trust nurses, which goes to show what a great job nurses are doing in such difficult circumstances.’