The impact of NHS strikes could turn workers against each other, a health chief has warned.
It comes as NHS bosses are braced for major disruption in the coming weeks as junior doctors walk out from 7am on Thursday, followed by consultants and radiographers in coming weeks.
The chief executive of one trust said the challenges caused by strikes were causing tensions between staff as procedures were cancelled and backlogs mounted.
There are some junior doctors and some consultants who are very against action and there are others who are very for action— Trust chief executive
They added: “I don’t think you can underestimate the tensions and the potential risk of division that this creates, between leaders and staff, but also amongst staff themselves.
“There are some junior doctors and some consultants who are very against action and there are others who are very for action. Our line is to respect the right of people to strike and to focus on us responding to the needs of the patients at the time, and that’s what we’re doing, but the longer this goes on the greater those tensions and the greater those impacts have.”
They also said they were “fed up to the back teeth” of the situation and called for negotiations between union leaders and the Government.
The comments come after a new report from NHS Providers exploring the operational and financial challenges facing NHS trusts in England.
The organisation conducted a survey and in-depth interviews with the chief executives and finance directors of 11 trusts across hospital, community, mental health and ambulance services.
It found progress was being made on targets and productivity, but that strikes were taking their toll. Some 89% of leaders said meeting efficiency targets was more challenging than last year, while 73% said they did not have access to the funding required to cover “vital” repairs to buildings and equipment.
Some 43% said they were expected to meet an interim recovery target of 76% of A&E attendances to be seen within four hours during 2023/24.
One trust chief executive said the “persistent nature” of issues facing staff was “challenging” and “doesn’t feel like the light at the end of the tunnel”. They said financial challenges were also “tough”.
There's a high level of frustration and deep concern that there doesn't appear to be a resolution in sight— Sir Julian Hartley, NHS Providers
Sir Julian Hartley, chief executive of NHS Providers, said pay awards needed to be “fully funded” as the “NHS hasn’t got the resources to fund them from existing budgets”.
The report also highlighted staff burnout as a concern among trust chiefs.
Eight months of industrial action had led to 651,000 routine procedures and appointments being rescheduled, according to NHS Providers.
Sir Julian described strikes as a “black cloud” over the health service.
He added: “There’s a high level of frustration and deep concern that there doesn’t appear to be a resolution in sight.
I think it is fair to say this is probably the most challenging period of operational pressure the NHS has faced, and I think the impact of strike action has just made all of this so much more difficult— Sir Julian Hartley, NHS Providers
“The consequences of ongoing industrial action on patient waits and on staff morale, and indeed the mounting costs of strike action, is something that we just can’t allow to become business as usual.
“As long as we’ve got a black cloud of industrial action without a solution in sight, the scale of the challenges facing the NHS will continue to mount.”
He also said this was the “most challenging period of operational pressure the NHS has faced” and thinks “the impact of strike action has just made all of this so much more difficult”.
“The constant pressure around covering for strikes, the need for trusts to organise and plan, means the eye is always on the operational ball and planning around industrial action. It has not allowed time and space for trusts to focus on the things that they need to do in terms of the strategic agenda and taking broader plans forward,” he said.
“I think it is fair to say this is probably the most challenging period of operational pressure the NHS has faced, and I think the impact of strike action has just made all of this so much more difficult
“I think low morale and the impact of burnout for staff, in terms of some of the challenges to having a cohesive team, and the sense that this is never ending, means we do need to see an urgent resolution to this.”
Junior doctors will return to work at 7am on July 18 and 48 hours later, consultants will strike for two days.
Radiographers from 43 NHS trusts will then strike between 8am on July 25 and 8am on July 27.
One health chief was braced ready for thousands of appointments and procedures to be cancelled at their trust over coming weeks. They estimated that the last three-day strike had impacted “about 4,000 procedures”.
They said: “That is about 1,500 patients per strike for a three-day strike. For a five-day strike, it’s going to be 2,000, and for a two-day consultants’ strike, it’s going to be about 1,000.
“That’s every single time that happens. The impact that that has in terms of then booking those patients back in gets harder each time because you’ve got more people who’ve been moved already.”
The junior doctors’ strike comes after a General Medical Council (GMC) survey of more than 70,000 doctors either in training or providing training found 27% had experienced micro-aggressions or negative comments from colleagues.
Saffron Cordery, deputy chief executive of NHS Providers, said “from an NHS perspective” the report made for “sobering reading”.
She added: “I think the issue there is a rising level of dissatisfaction with roles overall.”
