A NURSE who joined dozens of colleagues on strike outside Great Western Hospital says the NHS is broken and staff are struggling to cope with the demand.

The healthcare worker, who did not wish to give her name, spoke out about the stress and strain of working on the wards with extra pressures caused by wider issues in the health and social care sector.

She told the Adver: "The NHS runs on gestures of goodwill which are taken for granted. It’s a broken service, which is heartbreaking.

"We work hours of overtime and skip lunch breaks because if people are waiting and you have the skillset to make a difference to their lives, you do it and stay longer without question.

“We’re on our knees and have nothing left to give, it’s dire. Everyone’s going to need a nurse, but one day they will ring up and there won’t be any.

“I think the arrogance of the government and their lack of appreciation for what we do was the final straw.

“[Former Health Secretary] Matt Hancock earns £84,000 a year but can claim on expenses to clean his Aga and then go to Australia for a few weeks. Meanwhile, nurses can’t afford the petrol to get to work and rely on food banks, it’s insulting."

Following walkouts on Thursday, GWH staff held another day of industrial action on Tuesday, calling on the government to take action to improve staff retention and patient safety.

The experienced medic hit out at the government criticising nurses for causing tens of thousands of appointments to be cancelled on strike days, and pointed out that millions of missed GP appointments cost the NHS £216 million last year.

She added: "We are representing the colleagues who can’t strike or are not in a position to strike. It’s not about the money, it’s about patient safety and staff shortages.

“Patients are a lot more complex now, so we end up doing more social care due to a shortage of social services.

"It’s so much more than just the nursing element now, you find yourself doing extra little things that are outside your role and have more admin to do which makes life harder.

“I hope things change but listening to how the government has responded so far, I think we’ll be in for the long-haul.”

The hospital kept healthcare services running on strike days by keeping a bare minimum number of staff available on-site.