Care services will be cut to the “absolute minimum” in the next round of strikes, the union said as NHS leaders warn they have remained in the dark about the level of care being provided.
Critical services and ambulance services could be thrown into chaos after the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) announced that nurses in those departments would be on strike for the first time, a major escalation from recent strikes.
As tensions escalate in a longstanding wage dispute with the government, the next strike will affect more than 120 NHS employers in England and will continue non-stop for 48 hours from 6am on March 1st.
The RCN said it was in talks with the NHS as part of its commitment to life and health care, adding that hospitals are being asked to rely on other staff to make up for the lack of nurses.
I understands that “care for life and personal care” means that nurses leave the picket line to take part in a serious incident or emergency, such as temporarily suspending their strike to help a person who died outside the Bristol Royal Hotel in December. The infirmary collapsed.
Dr. Layla McKay, Director of NHS Confederation Policy, said this. I Hospital leaders were still trying to figure out what this strike escalation would look like on the ground and how exactly life and health protection could be created.
She said the current lack of anomalies in high-risk areas such as emergency care and cancer treatment “is clearly going to cause major disruptions,” which has worried hospital leaders.
“This is new territory for unions not offering these exemptions and I think we are all trying to figure out what that will mean,” Ms McKay added.
“From what we’ve heard so far, services are expected to be reduced to an ‘absolute minimum’, but what that means remains to be seen.”
East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation CEO Nick Hulme told BBC Radio 4. Today According to the plan, the proposed strikes would be “completely different and obviously pose a much higher risk” than previous strikes, adding that there was a “significant risk”.
RCN General Secretary Pat Cullen acknowledged that the upcoming strike would pose a risk to patients, but disagreed that it would pose a significant risk.
She told the program, “I accept that within 48 hours there will be significant changes. And, of course, there will be extreme tests.”
Striking nurse says March strike escalation is ‘last resort’
A nurse who works in the emergency room says her decision to retire in March was a “last resort.”
Lianna, 40, who works in an emergency room in the south east of England, said she went on strike after years of low wages.
She has been a nurse for 14 years but said she hasn’t seen a pay rise and she still has to work extra shifts on weekends, nights and holidays to allow herself a quality of life where “you can take a break.”
In her role, she evaluates and treats emergency room patients referred by physicians, helping them decide where and how to provide the best care. Your squad was defeated in the last attack, but will not be now.
Asked if patients would be hurt by the next strike, Leanne said she thought the hospital would do its best to find emergency care, but also called the escape “a last resort.”
“This shouldn’t be happening. We are a workforce that has never taken action like this before because we didn’t take it lightly,” she shared. I.
She is not a “militant trade unionist” but stands up for her profession.
“This is not about making patients unsafe… but we are human too and we also have the right to stand up for ourselves as a group of people. We need to be heard, how else should we be heard?
She added: “What our patients experience every day in a depleted health service, a health service in crisis, is a significant risk and challenge.”
Mentioned by Dr. Daniel Bryden, Dean of the Intensive Care Unit. I that intensive care units will suffer, adding that nurses are a highly trained part of the team.
“We do not know what impact the planned nurses’ strike will have on intensive care medicine.
“Some of the extracurricular activities in intensive care units… can be scheduled and reduced. Other patients are sent to intensive care, and this is less predictable.
“It takes a whole team of people to treat and care for a seriously ill person: doctors, nurses, pharmacists, physical therapists… Critical care nurses are a highly trained and well-educated professional group that plays an important role in this. team.”
Seriously ill patients are treated in intensive care units or intensive care units. As a rule, the nurse serves one or two patients at the same time and can always be near them.
Hospitals may be forced to transfer staff from other departments or hire temporary workers during a strike.
Dr Bryden said healthcare workers have the right to leave and the UK urgently needs to improve recruitment and retention.
Ms McKay said hospital leaders are increasingly worried and frustrated about how long the standoff will last.
She said the more active the unions are, the more patients are at risk, which in turn prevents hospitals from cutting the waiting list of seven million people that has grown since Covid-19.
Ms McKay added: “Hospital leaders need a solution as disruptions become intermittent.
“We see Wales thinking about how to end this action, we don’t see any real action in England, it’s just not clear what the final is.
“The government is not responding to calls to talk about wages, unions say it’s important to talk about wages, this is a confrontation that we can’t leave forever – it’s bad for the workforce, bad for patients, bad for society. a country.”
The financial support for the striking nurses has been increased from £50 a day to £80 and from the fourth day of the action to £120.
The RCN, which initially called for a wage increase of five percent above inflation, is urging the government to return to the negotiating table, but ministers are determined to follow the recommendations of the independent wage watchdog.
Health and Welfare Minister Steve Barclay said: “The failure to provide coverage for essential services such as cancer treatment during the strikes is a major escalation by the Royal College of Nursing, putting patient safety at risk.
“We are working closely with NHS England on contingency plans, but this action will inevitably result in further disruption for patients.
“I’ve had a number of discussions with unions, including the RCN, about what’s going to be fair and affordable for the year ahead, as well as broader concerns about conditions and workload.”
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.