Maternity and emergency room patients will face disruptions when more than 100,000 nurses go on strike later this month, trust leaders have warned.
Sick babies, cancer patients and dialysis patients will be “protected” from unrest during the upcoming strikes, but hospital leaders said they are competing with union leaders over time to prevent other vital services from being hit.
The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) wrote to NHS employers on Friday explaining what it means to adhere to a “life-saving care model” during labor disputes.
Chemotherapy, dialysis, intensive care units such as “accident” and “high addiction”, neonatal and pediatric emergency care are areas RCN confirms will be released from the strike later this month.
Earlier this week, NHS England met with senior RCN leaders to agree on areas of concern to be addressed on Thursday 15 April.
Eight problem areas are related to patient care, but not all will be protected, and trustees are seeking additional strike waivers for other “critical patient services.”
Saffron Corderi, Interim Director of NHS Providers representing Trusts, said: “Trust leaders who manage NHS organizations affected by the RCN strike will redouble their efforts to reach local agreements with the union on where strikes will take place, given the apparent exception. emergency care and obstetric care from the national list of exempted services.
“Of course, the decision to exclude ‘life-sustaining care’ such as intensive care units, intensive care units, dialysis and chemotherapy services, neonatal and pediatric intensive care units at the national level should be welcomed.
“But with less than two weeks left before the first strike, NHS leaders now face the daunting prospect of entering a period of intense negotiations with their local strike committee to urgently seek further exemptions for other critical patient services.
“What was already expected to be a particularly difficult situation for the NHS has now become even more difficult. Patient safety is of the utmost importance to Trust Leaders and they will do everything they can to protect patient care and support all of their employees.
“Today’s events underscore once again the urgent need for the government and trade unions to come together and do whatever is necessary to prevent these strikes.”
Strikes will continue if government negotiations fail to stop them. About half of the NHS employers in England will be affected, all but one health council in Northern Ireland and all but one in Wales are also affected by the strikes. The strike in Scotland was stopped after the Scottish government offered higher wages than the RCN offered its members.
RCN General Secretary and Chief Executive Pat Cullen said: “Every nurse feels a great responsibility to keep this strike safe. Patients are already at high risk and we won’t add anything to that. This list of exceptions shows how seriously we must take our obligations and reassure patients. Nurses do not want to take this step, and ministers prefer strikes to negotiations. You can stop it at any time.”
Health Minister Steve Barclay said: “Our priority is protecting patients during strikes, and the National Health Service has tried and tested plans to minimize disruption and ensure emergency services continue to operate. My door remains open to discuss with unions how we can make the NHS a better place to work.”
Source: I News
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