NURSES are having to resort to using food banks and take on second jobs to make ends meet as they launch a campaign to get fairer pay.

Members of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) met nursing and other healthcare staff and members of the public in Brighton yesterday as part of a national day of action.

The RCN is planning a summer of protests calling on the Government to scrap the one per cent cap on NHS pay.

It is also threatening to hold a ballot for strikes after a poll showed nine out of ten members would support the move.

Student nurse Graeme Stokes, from Brighton, is finishing his course in 12 weeks time and will be taking on a job as a children’s nurse.

The 37-year-old from Brighton, who is chairman of the Brighton and Hove branch of the RCN, gave up a well-paid career as a roofer because he was not satisfied with what he was getting out of it.

He said: “Obviously I do have concerns about future earnings.

“I know there are nurses who have taken on second jobs and got other qualifications so they can do extra work. This is something I will have to consider if I am to supplement my income.

“The concern of course is that you have nurses already doing a full-time job and then they are doing extra work on top of that, which is not good.

“The pay cap devalues the profession and it is putting people off from joining it at a time when there are 40,000 nursing vacancies in the country.”

RCN South East officer Sue Bucksey said: “Essentially nurses have suffered a pay cut of 14 per cent in real teams and this is having an impact on recruitment and morale.

“We have heard about members of the public who have been shocked at the level of pay for nurses and healthcare assistants and we need to be getting that message across to show people have had enough.”

The starting salary for a newly qualified Band 5 nurse is just over £22,000 a year.

The TUC and other health unions are also stepping up pressure on the Government to end the seven-year cap on the pay of NHS workers.

RCN general secretary Janet Davies said: “This summer, nurses will show the Government how angry they feel over its failure to fund the NHS.

“Protests in dozens of locations will leave Theresa May in little doubt over nurses’ fears for the safety of their patients.”