Health officials fear that another two months of strikes by NHS workers will cause waiting lists to rise again and put even more pressure on hospitals to force them out.
Data from NHS England released Friday evening shows that just over 5,000 surgeries, including routine procedures such as hip and knee replacements that require hospitalization, have been delayed due to a two-day nurses’ strike this week.
More than 22,500 appointments have also been postponed due to cancellations on Wednesday and Thursday. This usually includes visits, x-rays and minor surgeries.
Saffron Corderi, NHS Providers interim director representing the trusts, said the strike days caused “significant disruption” and were “one of the most difficult” hospitals this winter.
She said it would have a “huge impact on efforts to close the backlog,” adding: “The impact goes far beyond the day itself. We are very concerned about this increase in demand, which will only continue with new forecasts.”
Nurses will also close trusts in England and Wales on 7 February, while the GMB has also announced strikes on 20 February and 6 and 20 March. Strikes this week have affected a quarter of hospitals, but by February will affect almost half of the hospitals.
The emergency list in England fell to just under 7.2 million last month for the first time since the pandemic began. But health experts said I continued strikes could affect the chances of further progress.
Siva Anandachiva, chief analyst at The King’s Fund, said: “The targets to improve waiting lists have already been challenging. NHS worker strikes are not the only factor that will affect the NHS’s ability to meet waiting list tasks, one of the prime minister’s five urgent priorities, but union action is clearly adding more uncertainty to an already uncertain situation.
Rachel Power, executive director of the Patients’ Association, said people are “afraid” of getting sick.
She said: “Now every day is a challenge for so many patients trying to access care and treatment. Strikes affect services, but the crisis that the NHS is in is a very serious problem.”
Ambulance workers in England, Wales and Northern Ireland are set to stage 10 more strikes in the coming weeks as trusts begin to prepare for the biggest day of strikes the NHS has ever seen.
Unite announced on Friday that its workers will join other NHS workers in union action on Monday, Feb. 6, and warned that additional dates could be announced soon due to a further escalation in tight wages and a personnel dispute.
Members of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) and the ambulance crew at GMB also went on strike on February 6, which was chosen by the RCN to address a shortage of 10 nurses in patient care and additional deaths.
NHS Providers policy director Miriam Deakin said the trust’s leaders are experiencing what may be the “worst day of their careers”.
She said: “Ten more days of Unite ambulance strike will make an already incredibly difficult situation even more difficult for NHS patients and staff. Nobody wants these strikes to happen, but it’s clear that the workforce feels compelled to do so.”
Health workers unions have begun coordinating strike days to create as much unrest as possible and force the government to the negotiating table. However, Rishi Sunak and Health Minister Steve Barclay said their wage demands were “priceless”.
The war of words continued on Friday as Unite General Secretary Sharon Graham accused the government of “deliberately misleading the public” about life and health insurance during the strike days and who was responsible for this winter’s high death toll.
Downing Street insisted that the government remained ready to facilitate negotiations with unions, while acknowledging that the planned strike would cause further “disturbance” for patients.
A spokesman for the prime minister called it “disappointing” that the strikes would take place amid severe tensions in the NHS, but said the government was determined to find a “solution”.
Professor Sir Stephen Powys, National Medical Director of the NHS, said: “The NHS will keep its foot on the accelerator to make progress on Covid and hospitals have been asked to ensure that anyone waiting more than 18 months meets with a previously booked visit in March . ”
Source: I News
I’m Raymond Molina, a professional writer and journalist with over 5 years of experience in the media industry. I currently work for 24 News Reporters, where I write for the health section of their news website. In my role, I am responsible for researching and writing stories on current health trends and issues. My articles are often seen as thought-provoking pieces that provide valuable insight into the state of society’s wellbeing.