An elderly patient confronted British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak at a hospital in London on Friday, telling him it was "a tragedy" the government did not pay nurses more and that he should "try more."
In the most extended poll in its 106-year history, more than 300,000 members of Britain's largest nurses union started voting earlier this month on going on strike in a dispute over compensation that is falling behind skyrocketing inflation levels.
During a visit to a hospital in Croydon, south London, the female patient urged the prime minister must "care after" the government-run National Health Service (NHS) and do more to help nurses.
This week, Sunak became the third prime minister of Britain in two months, and his administration is developing expenditure plans.
When Sunak inquired about the woman's care by the staff, "they always do," she said, "very beautifully. Shame on you for not paying them more."
She said, "No, you are not trying; you need to try more," after Sunak had claimed that his administration was making an effort.
The prime minister replied, "Right, I'll remove that. They make a great team over here."
The Royal College of Nursing said that because of years of real-term salary reductions, which discouraged individuals from entering the field and left enormous staffing gaps throughout the health sector, it had been compelled to put a strike vote to the employees.
Voters like the NHS have been offered free healthcare at the point of use since 1948. The NHS also receives nearly a third of all government spending on public services.
However, the COVID-19 epidemic boosted patient demand, resulting in record numbers of patients waiting to begin regular treatment, with some spending hours waiting for a bed in ambulances, outside hospitals, or on trolleys.