The general secretary of the Royal College of Nursing has issued a "clear warning to the government" that it must deliver a better deal for nurses soon.

Asked by Tim Sebastian on BBC's HARDtalk what would happen if the government did not, Beverly Malone said: "I'm pretty sure my council will be very adamant in saying we are not going to play.

"We are not going to be part of a charade."

Click here to watch the full interview

Concrete demands

Ms Malone, 53, is the first foreigner to lead Britain's 400,000 nurses.

The former health advisor to Bill Clinton said: "I'm looking for the government to show in concrete terms that they value nurses and I think that's a pay increase."

She also stressed that other conditions such as family-friendly policies, career structure and leadership opportunities are imperative in order to entice nurses both to remain in, and to join, the profession.

She criticised the government for not pushing forward reforms in the three years that it has already been in power.

Investing in nursing is investing in patient care

Beverly Malone

"The government was very lax about this.

"They really didn't have an explanation that was acceptable to us as nurses."

'Actions, not words'

Beverly Malone said she wanted "actions, not words". She added: "Investing in nursing is investing in patient care."

Beverly Malone: "we're on the right track"

She said the government's target of recruiting 20,000 more nurses by 2005 "can be done if enough attention is paid to students in the pipeline and enough money paid to the nurse lecturers who are preparing those students".

She remained optimistic that her members were on the right track, explaining: "We're at the negotiating table now".

She also believes that morale amongst nurses is on the way up and that "the government is making an effort".

Questions raised

Despite her positive attitude, the RCN general secretary has not had a totally smooth ride in her post.

National Health Service staff often complain about long hours and poor pay

Critics have attacked the fact that Ms Malone's mother, who is not a British citizen, was treated for two operations on the NHS.

Her mother was also accused of jumping to the front of the waiting list, though Ms Malone has denied this.

Then Ms Malone was condemned for attending a Labour party fundraising event - a move considered by many to be bad judgement for the head of a supposedly impartial union.

And, perhaps most controversially, questions have been raised over her acceptance of a reported �100,000 salary.

It's the plum job of the world in terms of nursing

Beverly Malone

She herself has described her salary as "interesting" and "obviously up for discussion" but this has angered some who point out that many of her members earn a fraction of what she does.

In response to all the accusations, Ms Malone says how surprised she is that they have become issues:

"They have been blown out of proportion and are nothing of significance."

Strong ideals

Whatever the difficulties, Ms Malone insisted she had no regrets about taking on the job, adding: "It's the plum job of the world in terms of nursing".

As the world moves on... you're going to need nurses

Beverley Malone

One key motivator for her appears to be the ideals of the NHS:

"In the UK we believe in healthcare as a right; in the US it's a privilege."

And she truly believes that nurses are central to the future of the health service.

She explained: "As the world moves on, you're going to see people living with their illnesses instead of dying from them. You're going to need nurses."

The interview can be watched in full on Friday 9 August on BBC World and BBC News 24 at the following times:

BBC News 24 (times shown in BST) 0430, repeated 2230

BBC World (times shown in GMT) 0330, repeated 0830, 1130, 1530, 1830, 2330