Patients are cautioned to anticipate extensive service disruptions on Wednesday and Thursday, as nurses continue their strikes in England.
Approximately one in four hospitals and community services will be affected by the two-day walkouts by members of the Royal College of Nursing.
It follows two days of strikes preceding the holiday season over a salary issue.
As required by labor rules, emergency treatment will be provided from 08:00 to 20:00 during the walkouts.
It will mean services such as chemotherapy, kidney dialysis, and intensive care would be given.
“Greater influence”
Community nursing and pre-booked treatments such as hernia repairs, hip replacements, and outpatient clinics are expected to see the most interruption. Thousands of treatments and appointments were rescheduled as a result of the industrial action last month.
However, general practitioner offices will operate normally, as the nurses who provide these services are not participating in the strike.
Saffron Cordery of NHS Providers, which represents NHS services, stated that the magnitude of the walkout and the fact that it occurred over two consecutive days indicated that it would likely have a “bigger impact.”
She stated, “We foresee widespread disruption.” “It will be felt both immediately and in the days that follow.”
Matthew Taylor, chief executive officer of the NHS Confederation, warned that without a wage deal, patients would be subjected to the consequences of a “protracted battle of attrition between the government and the unions.”
The strike action, he told the PA news agency, “couldn’t have occurred at a worse time for the NHS.” We had hoped, however, that a deal would be reached by now to resolve the standoff.
Pat Cullen, general secretary of the RCN, who represents over 300,000 nurses, stated that the union regretted the consequences.
She stated, “People are not dying because of the nurses’ strike.” The nurses are on strike because patients are dying. This is how dire the situation is in the NHS, and it is time for the prime minister to lead the fight for its survival.
“The current record number of vacant nursing positions must be allowed to worsen. Pay healthcare workers decently to reverse this trend and provide the public with the treatment it merits.”
Nurses strike causes considerable disruption
Clint Cooper, a nurse for nearly three decades, will cross the picket line on Wednesday to work on a heart-care unit at Scarborough Hospital in North Yorkshire, despite his full support for his striking colleagues.
“I believe in the concept of what my colleagues are doing,” he continues, “but I voted ‘No’ because I cannot leave my patients and walk out.”
This is my conscience speaking: “Last week, I had two patients who were quite unwell. And I wonder if I hadn’t been there and escalated the situation, would they still be alive if I had walked out.”
Mr. Cooper thinks that the government must nevertheless find the funds for a larger wage increase.
“I’ve voted Conservative in every election except one, but I can’t vote for them again,” he says. The National Health Service is in peril.
“This is about the future of the NHS, not just compensation.” Nurses do not desire applause. They desire the means to perform their duties. They are exceptionally qualified and the backbone of the NHS.’
The RCN has requested a wage increase of 5% over the current Retail Prices Index (RPI) inflation rate of 14%.
As recommended by the independent NHS Pay Review Body, the governments of England and Wales have handed NHS employees an average raise of 4.75 percent, with everyone receiving a minimum of £1,400.
Ms. Cullen has stated that she is willing to compromise with ministers and meet them halfway.
However, the government has made it clear that it will not negotiate this year’s salary increase.
However, one alternative being investigated by Health Secretary Steve Barclay is backdating the 2023-24 rise to January. Typically, it would begin around April.
However, the Treasury has not approved the proposal.
This has previously been tabled in Scotland, leading to NHS strikes being suspended for further negotiations. Although staff there earned a 7.5% wage hike this year.
If a new offer is not made, the RCN has announced that additional strikes would be staged on February 6 and 7, affecting a larger proportion of services in England and Wales than in the past.
Ms. Cullen continued, “Today, I am telling the prime minister that he will continue to have strikes if he continues to dig into his trenches.
“We have extended an olive branch to the government, in fact, the entire tree. We’ve asked you to meet us halfway, so now proceed.
“Let’s sit down and end the strikes so we don’t have to continue this until February.”
Mr. Barclay stated that he had “productive discussions” with the RCN and was eager to continue the discourse.
The RCN, which represents around two-thirds of nurses, surveyed more than 300,000 NHS trusts and boards as opposed to conducting a single nationwide vote.
This means that some nurses do not have the right to engage in industrial action because their local turnout was insufficient.
The RCN has a mandate in approximately half of England’s 209 services. The 55 affected this week differ from the 44 targeted before the holiday season.
In the following weeks, ambulance personnel and physiotherapists also want to go on strike.
