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'You need to try harder': Patient confronts Sunak over nurses' pay

'You need to try harder': Patient confronts Sunak over nurses' pay

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak speaks with members of the media as he visits Croydon University Hospital

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was challenged by an elderly patient at a London hospital on Friday who told him it was "a pity" the government did not pay nurses more and he must "tryharder".

In the beginning of this month, more than 300,000 members of Britain's largest nursing union began voting on taking strike action in a dispute over pay which is unable to cope withsoaring levels of inflation, the biggest ballot in its 106-year history.

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Video courtesy: BBC

The patient told the PM Sunak thahe must "look after" the state-run National Health Service (NHS) and do more to support nurses, during a visit to a hospital in Croydon in south London.

When Sunak asked the woman whether the staff had looked after her "really nicely", she replied: "They always do. It is a pity you don't pay them more."

Sunak reassuredher his government wastrying, before she said: "No you are nottrying, you need totryharder."

The prime minister responded: "Right, I will take that away. They are a very nice team here."

The Royal College of Nursing said it had been forced to ballot staff about a strike after years of real-terms wage cuts has discouragedpeople from joining the profession. This has caused ahuge staffing gaps across the health service.

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