Health leaders have said the major 48-hour nurses strike announced for next month is a 'worrying escalation' that could 'lead to serious damage to the NHS' and 'risk patient safety'.
The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) has announced a significant escalation in strike action at more than 120 NHS employers across England in the increasingly bitter dispute over pay and staffing. A 48-hour walkout will be staged from 6am on March 1.
For the first time, the RCN will involve nursing staff working in emergency departments, intensive care units, cancer care and other services that were previously exempted. The college said it was continuing discussions with the NHS at national level as part of its commitment to 'life and limb' care but will reduce services to an “absolute minimum”
Health and Social Care Secretary Steve Barclay said failure to provide cover to departments such as cancer care is a 'significant escalation' from previous strikes, that will 'inevitably cause further disruption to patients'.
Sir Julian Hartley, chief executive at NHS Providers said the escalation was 'worrying', with over 140,000 appointments already postponed as a result of staff walkouts, and that the NHS could be 'seriously damaged'.
However the union said the decision has been made with a 'heavy heart' and that both nurses and patients did not want the strikes to happen. In Manchester, Tameside and Glossop Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust, The Christie NHS Foundation Trust, the North West Ambulance Service and Wrightington Wigan and Leigh NHS Foundation Trust will be impacted.
Health and Social Care Secretary Steve Barclay said: “Failure to provide cover during strike action for key services like cancer care is a significant escalation from the Royal College of Nursing that will risk patient safety. We are working closely with NHS England on contingency plans, but this action will inevitably cause further disruption for patients.
“I’ve had a series of discussions with unions, including the RCN, about what is fair and affordable for the coming year, as well as wider concerns around conditions and workload.”
Sir Julian Hartley, chief executive at NHS Providers added: “This is the most worrying escalation of strikes yet. With more than 140,000 appointments already postponed as a result of the walkouts, this is a step no one wants to take. A continuous 48-hour strike with no exceptions in A&E, intensive care units or cancer care services will be a huge blow – especially as even more trusts will be affected this time.
“With further strikes by ambulance workers planned in the coming days and weeks, and junior doctors’ walkouts also likely, trust leaders are now in a near-impossible position. They’re deeply concerned the escalation could hamper their efforts to tackle care backlogs and compromise continuity of care for some.
“Without a resolution, this ongoing dispute could lead to serious, long-term damage to the NHS. We understand that frontline staff feel they’ve had no choice but to take this action due to challenges including the high cost of living, workforce shortages and below-inflation pay rises.
“Trust leaders will be working flat out to ensure patient safety and provision of vital services but they can only do so much by themselves. The Government needs to talk to the unions urgently about pay for this financial year.”
RCN general secretary Pat Cullen, said: “It is with a heavy heart that I have today asked even more nursing staff to join this dispute. These strikes will not just run for longer and involve more people but will leave no area of the NHS unaffected. Patients and nurses alike did not want this to happen.
“By refusing to negotiate with nurses, the Prime Minister is pushing even more people into the strike. He must listen to NHS leaders and not let this go ahead. I will do whatever I can to ensure patient safety is protected.
“At first, we asked thousands to keep working during the strikes but it is clear that is only prolonging the dispute. This action must not be in vain – the Prime Minister owes them an answer.”
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