Continued health worker strikes are making the job difficult, the chief executive of NHS England acknowledged.
The UK’s National Health Service is gearing up for its biggest union action next month, with thousands of surgeries and appointments expected to be canceled in the coming months.
However, NHS England chief Amanda Pritchard expressed hope that the union’s complaint could be resolved.
“As the strike drags on for long periods of time and those dates get closer, it will get harder, there’s no doubt about it,” she told BBC Radio 4. today Program.
“It definitely does. I think it’s clear.”
She added, “I feel like everyone is trying to find a solution.”
Feb. 6 is likely to be the largest strike the NHS has ever seen after the Unite union announced more paramedic strikes.
Thousands of nurses from the Royal College of Nursing were due to strike February 6-7, and the GMB union announced earlier this week that their paramedics would join them on February 6.
On Friday morning, Unite said workers from five ambulance trusts in England and Wales would also join the February 6 strike.
Thousands of NHS surgeries and appointments had to be canceled this week due to nurses’ strikes in England.
According to NHS England, 27,800 bookings had to be postponed in two days of action, including 5,000 surgeries and procedures.
Asked if she thought the NHS would ever return to ‘normal’ before Covid, Ms Pritchard said: ‘I don’t think there is anything normal for the NHS. Over the past 74 years, it has been adapted and changed again and again.”
She added that she thought there was a ‘great opportunity’ with a new staffing plan being developed by the NHS that warns that too many people passionate about healthcare have gone too far with course restrictions and tuition has been rejected. . puts. She said there should be more doctors and nurses who make it possible to “make money while you study” and that this will allow more people to change careers and join the NHS.
Health officials have warned emergency services are facing “anxious stress” and more hospital beds are “critically needed”.
Layoff delays are one of the many challenges the NHS will face this winter, along with bed shortages, a new wave of Covid-19 infections, the worst flu season in a decade, and ongoing strikes.
Downing Street insists the government remains willing to facilitate negotiations with unions, though it acknowledges that the planned strike will cause further “destruction” for patients.
Speaking to broadcasters during a visit to the hospital earlier this week, Health Secretary Steve Barclay appeared to rule out a 10% raise for nurses, insisting it was “not available.”
“Well, 10 per cent is out of our pocket, that would be an additional £3.6bn a year and that would obviously take money away from patient services, core services that we need to invest in given the backlog caused by the pandemic.” he said. .
“In government, we are now taking a whole-of-government approach – of course, I am negotiating with the Ministry of Finance, like other foreign ministers, and these things should be balanced not only with the needs of teachers, the minister of education or driver training with the transport secretary, but also available for your viewers in terms of their own livelihood.
He stressed that he was working “constructively” with the unions, but said he was “disappointed” by the strikes.
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.