- Patient safety paramount
- Trusts using lessons from first strike day to bolster plans
- More strikes loom as overstretched NHS under strain
- Ministers and unions must sit down and negotiate before
strain of industrial action gets worse
On strike action by nurses yesterday (15 December) and more
looming industrial action by NHS workers, NHS Providers’ interim
chief executive Saffron Cordery said:
“We saw a very mixed picture yesterday with 44 trusts subject to
strike action. There was significant disruption in some
trusts and for patients, and it was a demanding day for those
working on the front line.
“Some trust leaders reported a lot of pressure on accident and
emergency departments. Some routine operations and procedures had
to be rescheduled in places where there were strikes. Anecdotally
we heard examples of between 40 and 60 per cent of elective
activity being affected. That is a significant impact as the NHS
strives to bear down on backlogs.
“Trusts have planned meticulously for strikes, with keeping
patients safe the top priority. Trust leaders will learn from the
events of the first day of strike action by nurses to strengthen
their plans further and will continue to do everything they can
to minimise disruption for patients, ensure the safe delivery of
care and support the wellbeing of staff as they face more planned
– and sequential - strikes by nurses and ambulance workers next
week.
“The NHS is already overstretched by the effects of what may be
its toughest ever winter, with flu and Covid-19 adding to
pressures exacerbated by a record-high 133,000 staff vacancies
across trusts.
"Leaders across the NHS understand how strongly nurses and
ambulance staff feel and why below-inflation pay awards amid the
rising cost of living, severe staff shortages and ever-increasing
workloads have brought them to this point.
"The potential for prolonged industrial action is very worrying.
There must be urgent, serious talks between health ministers and
unions to avert more strikes.”
