NHS trusts across Nottinghamshire have said they are working to ensure there is minimal disruption for patients during upcoming nurse strikes. On Wednesday (November 9) Royal College of Nursing (RCN) members at four Nottinghamshire NHS organisations voted in favour of industrial action over pay, which is expected later this year.
This includes staff at Nottingham University Hospitals (NUH) which runs Queen's Medical Centre and City Hospital, as well as Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, NHS Nottingham and Nottinghamshire ICB and East Midlands Ambulance Service. However, staff at Sherwood Forest Hospitals, behind the King's Mill, Newark and Mansfield Community hospitals, voted against strike action.
Responding to the announcement, a spokesperson for NHS Nottingham and Nottinghamshire said: “While pay is a matter for Government and the trade unions, we value our staff and want to see a resolution as soon as possible to ensure we can continue to focus on delivering the very best care to the public in Nottingham and Nottinghamshire.
Read more: Nurses across Nottinghamshire set to walk out after backing strike
“We value our staff and understand the importance of good pay and conditions for individuals and their families. We are working with the Government and trade unions to ensure there is minimal disruption to patient care and that emergency services continue to operate as normal.”
Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, which provides integrated healthcare services across the county, added: “We value our staff and understand the importance of good pay and conditions for individuals and their families. We are working with the Government and trade unions to ensure there is minimal disruption to patient care and that emergency services continue to operate as normal.”
Members have voted to strike for the first time in the union’s 106-year history. The industrial action is expected to take place before Christmas. The union represents almost half a million nurses, healthcare assistants and midwives in the UK. Around two thirds of all nurses are members.
RCN is asking for nurses to be paid five percent above the RPI rate of inflation, which stands at 12 percent. A Downing Street spokesman said: “We hugely value the hard work and dedication of our nurses, but it is deeply regrettable that some union members are considering this action. These are challenging times for everyone. I think you’ll know the RCN are asking for 17% pay rise. To deliver that for all staff … that would cost £9 billion. In the current climate that is simply not deliverable.”
However, in response an RCN spokesperson said: “This is gross scaremongering and many multiples of the accurate costs." It comes as the separate union Unison asks 350,000 staff across England Wales and Northern Ireland to vote in favour of walking out in a dispute over pay. This includes thousands of staff, including nurses, midwives, paramedics and porters, across the healthcare system in Nottinghamshire. Unison's ballot for industrial action closes on November 27.
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