Officials have warned that another strike by NHS nurses, including emergency rooms, intensive care units and oncology units, will have a “massive” impact on patients in England.
The Royal College of Nursing is organizing a 48-hour strike from 20:00 April 30 to 20:00 May 2 after nurses rejected an offer from the English government for a salary.
This was stated by the CEO of NHS Providers Sir Julian Hartley. bbc breakfast: “The four-day strike had a big impact, especially on the planned deliveries. The prospect of a new public holiday nurses’ strike, covering the sectors we have mentioned – emergency care, resuscitation, etc. – will put enormous pressure on the trusts.
“The level of planning required to manage and mitigate the effects of strikes on patients is enormous, but that will mean more cancellations. We have already seen a large number of them. 330,000 appointments and procedures have been delayed due to labor disputes.”
RCN is reporting for the first time that this new strike will result in some critical care services such as the ICU being shut down on strike days, a step forward from previous strikes. Mr Hartley said: “Obviously if this happened as described, it would create significant risks and challenges for trusts that need to be managed and mitigated.”
He added that during the recent four-day strike of junior doctors, consultants played an important role. But the nursing staff is a “significant part of the workforce” and the next strike will represent “an unprecedented level of action,” he added.
Nick Hulme, chief executive of Ipswich and Colchester Hospitals, told Radio 4 that cancer patients are at greater risk because treatment can be delayed.
He said: “If there is a delay in cancer treatment, some delays will not have a significant impact, but there are many people who have waited too long for treatment, and this will only increase this risk.
“People are tired, there was a lot of goodwill, there is always a lot of goodwill to rely on in delivering medical care that has been tested in union action, formerly by nurses and now by young doctors.”
Mr Hulme said the strike, coordinated by doctors and nurses, “may pose a risk that I can’t fully understand.”
This was stated by General Secretary of the Congress of Trade Unions Paul Novak. Today Program patients on the NHS to be at risk on a daily basis due to lack of staff.
He said: “Everyone will be worried about the impact of a health worker strike, but the reality is that people in our National Health Service are at risk on a daily basis due to a chronic workforce crisis.
“We have 133,000 jobs in the NHS alone and another 170,000 in the social sector. firmly with the Federal Chancellor and with the Prime Minister.”
According to a recent patient association survey, more than 50% of patients have canceled visits.
Rachel Power, the charity’s chief executive, told BBC Breakfast she was frustrated that the government and unions couldn’t find a solution when “patients wait for treatment every day”.
Ms Power said: “(More strikes) will go a long way for patients who were already battling the pandemic last winter as well.”
She added: “We have seen long waits for ambulances, we have seen delays in the discharge of medically healthy people. We are concerned about people’s safety.
“People are waiting longer and this is unacceptable. We have heard from patients whose treatment has been withdrawn.
“We’ve heard from patients who haven’t heard what’s going to happen next.”
The government’s wage proposal caused controversy within the unions.
Unison members voted to pass a two-year wage proposal – a one-time bonus in 2022-2023 and a 5 percent (10.4 percent for the lowest paid) pay rise in 2023-2024.
However, RCN members rejected the proposal 54% to 46% despite the union leaders’ recommendation to accept it. Unite and GMB workers are still voting on the revised NHS salary proposal.
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.