Colin Poolman is director of RCN Scotland

WEDNESDAY was a historic day and a sad reflection on the years of under investment of Scotland’s health and care services.

Never before have we seen nursing staff stand up in such overwhelming numbers to say things have to change.

For years our warnings about staff shortages, failure to workforce plan and the lack of investment in the National Health Service’s most important asset – its staff – have been ignored.

The Scottish Government has relied on the goodwill of nursing staff and others. They’ve seen our members’ commitment to their patients, and the NHS as an institution, as a licence to take advantage.

When the pandemic hit, our health and social care workforce was badged as heroic, saving lives and battling through. But the reality was that nursing staff were doing as they have always done, caring for those who need it.

The same cannot be said for the Scottish Government – they have neglected nursing for too long. Our members are undervalued and underpaid and have said ‘enough is enough’.

Our anger has become action. The last thing our members want to do is go on strike but all other options have been exhausted. Strikes by nursing staff across Scotland will start within weeks, if the Cabinet Secretary fails to do the right thing.

The public have shown their support and that means everything. We are asking the people of Scotland to bear with us. We are taking this action for you – everybody who relies on a nurse or nursing support worker.

I’ve been asked about the impact of strike action on people already waiting for care and on those who will have treatment disrupted. This will be difficult, but patient care is already at risk. Operations are cancelled every day because there simply aren’t enough nurses. In a recent survey of RCN members eight in 10 said there were not enough nurses for safe patient care on their last shift.

Waiting two years for treatment or over 12 hours in A&E is unacceptable but that is the reality of the NHS in Scotland – things must get better and that starts with valuing the workforce.

Our members have agonised over making this decision. Many I have spoken to would never have considered strike action in the past but they see no alternative. They are at breaking point. Demoralised and angry that they are unable to deliver the care their patients deserve. Worried and anxious about how they can pay their bills and care for their families.

Low pay is pushing people out of our profession, and we are failing to attract the nursing workforce of the future. You deserve safely staffed services and we deserve to work in them – that’s the kind of care we came into nursing to give.

The votes of thousands of nurses must be a wake-up call for the Scottish Government. They have pushed us to strike and only they can pull us back out.