Sir, - I speak on behalf of my colleagues when I refer to the comments made by Brian Webb in his letter to The Irish Times (May 6th). Has Mr Webb been on holiday abroad or merely forgotten to remove his head from the sand? The nurses received their pay award without having to take any strike action. That is why patients did not suffer and remained cared for.
The health workers dispute has not been purely about pay but about establishing a proper grading structure within our profession. This will help to retain staff in the public sector and attract the brightest and most qualified professionals. My colleagues and I have spent four intensive years of study and have continued our education throughout our careers largely funded by ourselves, so that we can offer the public the best quality of care. This is not the attitude of uncaring irresponsible professionals.
We physiotherapists along with other health professionals thought long and hard about taking the major step of strike action. We manned the picket line daily for eight days whilst providing unpaid emergency cover. We are sick and tired of people like Brian Webb taking us for granted. We, like many members of the public, have bills to pay and families to keep. We are not exempt from these responsibilities because we are in the caring profession.
My colleagues and I returned to work on Thursday last and since then have had nothing but praise for the work we do and support for the actions we had to take over the past few weeks. I challenge Mr Webb to spend one day in our department and see for himself the caring, highly skilled and dedicated work we do. Yours, etc.,
Physiotherapy Department,
Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital,
Drogheda,
Co Louth.
PS: Definition of the word client (Collins English Dictionary): "A person that seeks the advice of a professional man or woman". (Collins Thesaurus): "Applicant, buyer, patient, consumer, dependant, customer, habitue, protege, shopper".