UK faces biggest round of health service strikes
Helen ROWE
Mon, 6 February 2023
Nurses and ambulances staff stepped up their demands for better pay Monday to combat the UK's cost of living crisis with their biggest round of health service strikes.
The stoppages -- part of a wave of industrial action across the UK economy -- will see nurses and paramedics take action on the same day for the first time.
Nurses say their wages have failed to keep up with inflation over the past decade, leaving them unable to pay their bills amid spiralling fuel, food and housing costs.
They warn that qualified nurses are quitting in droves due to the financial pressures resulting in understaffing that endangers patient care.
"We're run off our feet 24/7, breaking our backs doing the jobs of three people," said trainee nursing associate Victoria Busk who works on a trauma ward at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham, central England.
"I love my job, I love the work I do, making a difference to patients. But I can't imagine doing this until I'm in my 60s," she said.
Last week, half a million people including teachers, transport workers and Border Force staff at UK air and seaports also stopped work over pay.
The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) union said Monday's strike would affect nurses in around a third of hospital trusts in England and most of Wales.
- 'Sympathy' -
The ambulance staff strike would only affect England, however, after paramedics in Wales called off their planned action following an improved pay offer.
Health minister Maria Caulfield, who is also a nurse, said she sympathised with striking health service staff but argued that big pay hikes could not be afforded.
"I'm an RCN member myself, so I sit in both camps, if you like. Absolutely, I have a lot of sympathy," she told GB News.
"But we also have a responsibility to the taxpayer... we just can't afford inflation-busting pay rises that the unions are currently demanding."
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has called for pay rises to be "reasonable" and affordable", warning that big pay awards will jeopardise attempts to tame inflation.
Health Secretary Steve Barclay earlier urged unions to call off Monday's action.
"The Governor of the Bank of England warned if we try to beat inflation with high pay rises, it will only get worse and people would not be better off," he said.
"I have held constructive talks with the trade unions on pay and affordability and continue to urge them to call off the strikes."
But the Unite union general secretary Sharon Graham accused Barclay of "not telling the truth" as neither he nor Sunak had been are prepared to discuss pay.
"To me, that is an abdication of responsibility (as) the dispute is about pay -– so how can they say they are in talks?" she told the BBC.
Helen ROWE
Mon, 6 February 2023
Nurses and ambulances staff stepped up their demands for better pay Monday to combat the UK's cost of living crisis with their biggest round of health service strikes.
The stoppages -- part of a wave of industrial action across the UK economy -- will see nurses and paramedics take action on the same day for the first time.
Nurses say their wages have failed to keep up with inflation over the past decade, leaving them unable to pay their bills amid spiralling fuel, food and housing costs.
They warn that qualified nurses are quitting in droves due to the financial pressures resulting in understaffing that endangers patient care.
"We're run off our feet 24/7, breaking our backs doing the jobs of three people," said trainee nursing associate Victoria Busk who works on a trauma ward at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham, central England.
"I love my job, I love the work I do, making a difference to patients. But I can't imagine doing this until I'm in my 60s," she said.
Last week, half a million people including teachers, transport workers and Border Force staff at UK air and seaports also stopped work over pay.
The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) union said Monday's strike would affect nurses in around a third of hospital trusts in England and most of Wales.
- 'Sympathy' -
The ambulance staff strike would only affect England, however, after paramedics in Wales called off their planned action following an improved pay offer.
Health minister Maria Caulfield, who is also a nurse, said she sympathised with striking health service staff but argued that big pay hikes could not be afforded.
"I'm an RCN member myself, so I sit in both camps, if you like. Absolutely, I have a lot of sympathy," she told GB News.
"But we also have a responsibility to the taxpayer... we just can't afford inflation-busting pay rises that the unions are currently demanding."
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has called for pay rises to be "reasonable" and affordable", warning that big pay awards will jeopardise attempts to tame inflation.
Health Secretary Steve Barclay earlier urged unions to call off Monday's action.
"The Governor of the Bank of England warned if we try to beat inflation with high pay rises, it will only get worse and people would not be better off," he said.
"I have held constructive talks with the trade unions on pay and affordability and continue to urge them to call off the strikes."
But the Unite union general secretary Sharon Graham accused Barclay of "not telling the truth" as neither he nor Sunak had been are prepared to discuss pay.
"To me, that is an abdication of responsibility (as) the dispute is about pay -– so how can they say they are in talks?" she told the BBC.
Nurses speak of being 'overstressed and underpaid' as they join Oxford picket line
Tom Seaward
Mon, 6 February 2023
Nurses on the picket line outside John Radcliffe Hospital (Image: Oxford Mail)
Nurses spoke of feeling ‘overworked, overstressed and underpaid’ as they took to a picket line for what is reportedly the largest NHS strike in history.
By 8.30am this morning, more than a dozen members of the Royal College of Nursing were outside John Radcliffe Hospital on Headley Way – calling for a rise in pay.
Donna-Sue Wright, a registered nurse for 15 years and now working with the union, said: “We’re here today because we want safe staffing for our patients.
“Realistically, the only way we are going to achieve that is by getting a significant pay rise.
“Over the last 10 years we’ve had a real decrease in our pay in real terms. It’s getting to a point where it’s unsustainable for most nurses to continue in the profession they love.”
The RCN has called on the government to introduce a 19 per cent pay rise. Unions representing other healthcare workers taking to the picket lines this week, including physiotherapists and paramedics, have not specified a figure but have asked for inflation-beating salary rises.
Craig Walsh, 38, an advanced nurse practitioner in paediatric orthopaedics on the John Radcliffe and Nuffield hospital sites, told the Oxford Mail: “It’s really important that we get our voice heard. We don’t have any other way of communicating with the government and, unfortunately, even this doesn’t seem to be working at the moment.
“Since the last strike day on December 20, I’ve had four members of staff leave and we are, to use a medical term, haemorrhaging staff at the moment. It is within the government’s power to do something about that.”
He added: “There are not enough people to do the work; they are overworked, overstressed, underpaid.
“It is, morally, their responsibility to do something about that. This is about nurses’ pay; that’s why we’re striking. But it is more about the continued existence of the NHS.”
Oxford Mail: Craig Walsh outside John Radcliffe Hospital
Craig Walsh outside John Radcliffe Hospital (Image: Oxford Mail)
Also on the picket line, Kate Lacey, 41, qualified as a nurse two decades ago in her native Australia. “I just love looking after people,” she said of the work.
But she was surprised when she moved to the UK by the difference in how the profession was treated and seen.
“I just felt like they’re all overworked and under-appreciated and seen as less of a profession than they are at home,” she said.
“At home, nurses are really put on a pedestal. You’ll find nurses at home won’t come here to nurse because of the salary; they’d rather work harder at home then travel.”
Speaking to the BBC’s Today programme, health minister Maria Caulfield claimed it would cost ‘billions’ to reopen the pay settlement for nurses in England, as the government would then have to re-open talks with other public sector workers.
The minister claimed that patients could be put at risk ‘the longer that strikes go on’. Currently, the biggest impact is on pre-booked or ‘elective’ procedures, such as hernia operations. ‘Life-preserving treatment’ must be provided by NHS staff, while intensive care unit and emergency department nurses were expected to work.
President of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine Dr Adrian Boyle told the PA news agency: “While strikes may disrupt emergency care and pose a risk for patient safety, we know that patient safety has long been at risk as a result of years of under-resourcing, under-funding, lack of staff, lack of beds and inadequate and insufficient community and social care.
“This is why it is absolutely critical that every effort is made to retain existing staff in the health service, working on the frontline and delivering for patients.”
Tom Seaward
Mon, 6 February 2023
Nurses on the picket line outside John Radcliffe Hospital (Image: Oxford Mail)
Nurses spoke of feeling ‘overworked, overstressed and underpaid’ as they took to a picket line for what is reportedly the largest NHS strike in history.
By 8.30am this morning, more than a dozen members of the Royal College of Nursing were outside John Radcliffe Hospital on Headley Way – calling for a rise in pay.
Donna-Sue Wright, a registered nurse for 15 years and now working with the union, said: “We’re here today because we want safe staffing for our patients.
“Realistically, the only way we are going to achieve that is by getting a significant pay rise.
“Over the last 10 years we’ve had a real decrease in our pay in real terms. It’s getting to a point where it’s unsustainable for most nurses to continue in the profession they love.”
She added: “Working in a hospital is really hard in the way we’re expected to work all hours of the day and night, anti-social shifts, the pay is so poor it’s almost better for people to be working in a supermarket – actually, anywhere else.”
The RCN has called on the government to introduce a 19 per cent pay rise. Unions representing other healthcare workers taking to the picket lines this week, including physiotherapists and paramedics, have not specified a figure but have asked for inflation-beating salary rises.
Craig Walsh, 38, an advanced nurse practitioner in paediatric orthopaedics on the John Radcliffe and Nuffield hospital sites, told the Oxford Mail: “It’s really important that we get our voice heard. We don’t have any other way of communicating with the government and, unfortunately, even this doesn’t seem to be working at the moment.
“Since the last strike day on December 20, I’ve had four members of staff leave and we are, to use a medical term, haemorrhaging staff at the moment. It is within the government’s power to do something about that.”
He added: “There are not enough people to do the work; they are overworked, overstressed, underpaid.
“It is, morally, their responsibility to do something about that. This is about nurses’ pay; that’s why we’re striking. But it is more about the continued existence of the NHS.”
Oxford Mail: Craig Walsh outside John Radcliffe Hospital
Craig Walsh outside John Radcliffe Hospital (Image: Oxford Mail)
Also on the picket line, Kate Lacey, 41, qualified as a nurse two decades ago in her native Australia. “I just love looking after people,” she said of the work.
But she was surprised when she moved to the UK by the difference in how the profession was treated and seen.
“I just felt like they’re all overworked and under-appreciated and seen as less of a profession than they are at home,” she said.
“At home, nurses are really put on a pedestal. You’ll find nurses at home won’t come here to nurse because of the salary; they’d rather work harder at home then travel.”
Speaking to the BBC’s Today programme, health minister Maria Caulfield claimed it would cost ‘billions’ to reopen the pay settlement for nurses in England, as the government would then have to re-open talks with other public sector workers.
The minister claimed that patients could be put at risk ‘the longer that strikes go on’. Currently, the biggest impact is on pre-booked or ‘elective’ procedures, such as hernia operations. ‘Life-preserving treatment’ must be provided by NHS staff, while intensive care unit and emergency department nurses were expected to work.
President of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine Dr Adrian Boyle told the PA news agency: “While strikes may disrupt emergency care and pose a risk for patient safety, we know that patient safety has long been at risk as a result of years of under-resourcing, under-funding, lack of staff, lack of beds and inadequate and insufficient community and social care.
“This is why it is absolutely critical that every effort is made to retain existing staff in the health service, working on the frontline and delivering for patients.”
Government lying about NHS strike negotiations, Unite union leader claims
Jessica Elgot Deputy political editor
Sun, 5 February 2023
Photograph: Christopher Furlong/Getty Images
The Unite union’s general secretary, Sharon Graham, has accused the government of lying about the state of NHS strike negotiations and said no talks on pay were happening “at any level”.
Other unions, including Unison and the Royal College of Nursing (RCN), have said the government has not made any further moves towards ending industrial action since talks in early January.
On Sunday, Pat Cullen, the head of the RCN, made a last-ditch appeal before fresh nursing strikes this week, asking the prime minister, Rishi Sunak, to match offers made by the Welsh and Scottish governments, both of which have led to strikes being suspended.
Unite, which represents a smaller percentage of NHS staff, has not called off strikes and said the government was putting lives at risks from understaffing even on days when there were no strikes.
“It’s almost like there’s a strike in the NHS every single day; we’ve got 130,000 vacancies. So, we’re doing our very best to try and solve this dispute, but it’s going to take more than that. It’s going to take investment in the NHS also,” she said.
Graham, speaking on BBC One’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme, said the business secretary, Grant Shapps, was “actually lying” about minimum cover by ambulance workers, which she said was agreed on a trust-by-trust basis.
The government was also misleading the public on the extent of the talks to resolve the dispute. “In 30 years of negotiating, I’ve never seen such an abdication of responsibility in my entire life,” she said.
“Rishi Sunak is the CEO of UK plc. We are trying to sit down with him and do a negotiation. It’s very difficult to do a negotiation to solve a dispute like this if they won’t even come to the table.”
She said she could say “categorically that there have been no conversations on pay whatsoever with Rishi Sunak or Steven Barclay about this dispute in any way, shape, or form. They dance round their handbag, dance round the edges, but they will not talk about pay. And to me, that is an abdication of responsibility.”
Shapps had said he was concerned that the planned strike by ambulance staff on Monday would put lives at risk because of a lack of cooperation between striking workers and emergency cover by the armed forces.
“We have seen the situation where the Royal College of Nursing very responsibly before the strikes told the NHS, ‘This is where we are going to be striking,’ and they are able to put the emergency cover in place,” he told Sky.
“Unfortunately, we have been seeing a situation with the ambulance unions where they refuse to provide that information. That leaves the army, who are driving the back-ups here, in a very difficult position – a postcode lottery when it comes to having a heart attack or a stroke when there is a strike on.”
Jessica Elgot Deputy political editor
Sun, 5 February 2023
Photograph: Christopher Furlong/Getty Images
The Unite union’s general secretary, Sharon Graham, has accused the government of lying about the state of NHS strike negotiations and said no talks on pay were happening “at any level”.
Other unions, including Unison and the Royal College of Nursing (RCN), have said the government has not made any further moves towards ending industrial action since talks in early January.
On Sunday, Pat Cullen, the head of the RCN, made a last-ditch appeal before fresh nursing strikes this week, asking the prime minister, Rishi Sunak, to match offers made by the Welsh and Scottish governments, both of which have led to strikes being suspended.
Unite, which represents a smaller percentage of NHS staff, has not called off strikes and said the government was putting lives at risks from understaffing even on days when there were no strikes.
Related: Stress led to more NHS staff absences than Covid, new figures show
“It’s almost like there’s a strike in the NHS every single day; we’ve got 130,000 vacancies. So, we’re doing our very best to try and solve this dispute, but it’s going to take more than that. It’s going to take investment in the NHS also,” she said.
Graham, speaking on BBC One’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme, said the business secretary, Grant Shapps, was “actually lying” about minimum cover by ambulance workers, which she said was agreed on a trust-by-trust basis.
The government was also misleading the public on the extent of the talks to resolve the dispute. “In 30 years of negotiating, I’ve never seen such an abdication of responsibility in my entire life,” she said.
“Rishi Sunak is the CEO of UK plc. We are trying to sit down with him and do a negotiation. It’s very difficult to do a negotiation to solve a dispute like this if they won’t even come to the table.”
She said she could say “categorically that there have been no conversations on pay whatsoever with Rishi Sunak or Steven Barclay about this dispute in any way, shape, or form. They dance round their handbag, dance round the edges, but they will not talk about pay. And to me, that is an abdication of responsibility.”
Shapps had said he was concerned that the planned strike by ambulance staff on Monday would put lives at risk because of a lack of cooperation between striking workers and emergency cover by the armed forces.
“We have seen the situation where the Royal College of Nursing very responsibly before the strikes told the NHS, ‘This is where we are going to be striking,’ and they are able to put the emergency cover in place,” he told Sky.
“Unfortunately, we have been seeing a situation with the ambulance unions where they refuse to provide that information. That leaves the army, who are driving the back-ups here, in a very difficult position – a postcode lottery when it comes to having a heart attack or a stroke when there is a strike on.”
Nursing union leader calls on Sunak to intervene as biggest NHS walkout in history begins
Sun, 5 February 2023
A nursing union leader is calling on the prime minister to intervene as the biggest NHS walkout in history gets under way.
Royal College of Nursing's director for England, Patricia Marquis, told Sky News that so far there has been no "direct contact" with Rishi Sunak despite four previous strike days.
"It's a cry out to Rishi Sunak," she said, "to come to the table to seek a resolution. So far we've not had direct contact with him, all of our efforts have been through the secretary of state for health.
"And those have not really brought us any solutions.
"So really, now, we don't want the strikes to go ahead... and we're really calling on the prime minister to intervene, to come to the table and seek a resolution with us."
Today sees tens of thousands of NHS workers including nurses in England, and GMB union ambulance workers in England and Wales, taking industrial action in a dispute over pay and conditions.
On Tuesday, a second day of nursing strikes will take place.
Thursday will see more than 4,000 NHS physiotherapists walk out across England.
And on Friday there will be more ambulance worker strikes - this time members represented by Unison in London, Yorkshire, the South West, the North East and North West.
It has prompted NHS Providers - which represents trusts - to urge the public to use emergency services "wisely" as it warned the whole service was approaching a "crunch point".
Carmel O'Boyle has been a nurse in Scotland and Liverpool for six years, and an NHS worker for nearly two decades.
She describes making the "horrendous" and "emotional" decision to strike.
"No nurse wants to strike," she said, "but the wages just aren't compatible with the cost of living".
"We need a wage increase that is in line with inflation so that we can attract people, and keep people in the profession so that we can give the care to our patients that we want to deliver," she added.
Strikes will have 'impact on patients'
Health Secretary Steve Barclay has described the industrial action as "regrettable" and said the strikes will "undoubtedly have an impact on patients and cause delays to NHS services".
But Carmel says the government needs to understand that "people aren't dying because nurses are striking, nurses are striking because people are dying".
Read more:
Nurses urge PM to take 'swift' action to avert strike
Junior doctors 'likely' to go on strike next month
Who is taking industrial action in 2023 and when?
Concern has also been raised over the impact the strikes will have on the NHS backlog of treatment and waiting lists.
Kim Whyman has been waiting for surgery on her elbow for two years.
It often dislocates and she has to "pop it back in" herself. Her operation to stabilise it was scheduled for Monday, but due to strikes it has been cancelled for the second time.
Have you been affected by the strikes? To share your experience anonymously, please email NHSstories@sky.uk
Mrs Whyman, from Norfolk, describes being in pain regularly and is worried about the amount of painkillers she has to take, over a longer period of time, while she waits for surgery.
She works as a receptionist in a GP surgery but is "angry" over her care being disrupted.
'It's not fair'
"I'm not very happy," she told Sky News, "you build yourself up to go into hospital and this is the second time it's been cancelled in just under a month.
"I understand where (nurses) are coming from. But it's everybody that's been affected by their strike. Not just nurses.
"It's patients and families, there are people worse off than me that are being cancelled as well. And it's not fair."
She said she wants immediate action from the government: "Give them a pay rise."
The RCN and other NHS unions in Wales called off strikes in Wales this week after receiving a new pay offer from the Welsh government, while negotiations in Scotland are ongoing.
In a statement from the government, Mr Barclay said: "Despite contingency measures in place, strikes by ambulance and nursing unions this week will inevitably cause further delays for patients who already face longer waits due to the COVID backlogs.
"We prioritised £250m of support last month for extra capacity in urgent and emergency care, but strikes this week will only increase the disruption faced by patients."
He added: "I have held constructive talks with the trade unions on pay and affordability and continue to urge them to call off the strikes. It is time for the trade unions to look forward and engage in a constructive dialogue about the Pay Review Body Process for the coming year."
Sun, 5 February 2023
A nursing union leader is calling on the prime minister to intervene as the biggest NHS walkout in history gets under way.
Royal College of Nursing's director for England, Patricia Marquis, told Sky News that so far there has been no "direct contact" with Rishi Sunak despite four previous strike days.
"It's a cry out to Rishi Sunak," she said, "to come to the table to seek a resolution. So far we've not had direct contact with him, all of our efforts have been through the secretary of state for health.
"And those have not really brought us any solutions.
"So really, now, we don't want the strikes to go ahead... and we're really calling on the prime minister to intervene, to come to the table and seek a resolution with us."
Today sees tens of thousands of NHS workers including nurses in England, and GMB union ambulance workers in England and Wales, taking industrial action in a dispute over pay and conditions.
On Tuesday, a second day of nursing strikes will take place.
Thursday will see more than 4,000 NHS physiotherapists walk out across England.
And on Friday there will be more ambulance worker strikes - this time members represented by Unison in London, Yorkshire, the South West, the North East and North West.
It has prompted NHS Providers - which represents trusts - to urge the public to use emergency services "wisely" as it warned the whole service was approaching a "crunch point".
Carmel O'Boyle has been a nurse in Scotland and Liverpool for six years, and an NHS worker for nearly two decades.
She describes making the "horrendous" and "emotional" decision to strike.
"No nurse wants to strike," she said, "but the wages just aren't compatible with the cost of living".
"We need a wage increase that is in line with inflation so that we can attract people, and keep people in the profession so that we can give the care to our patients that we want to deliver," she added.
Strikes will have 'impact on patients'
Health Secretary Steve Barclay has described the industrial action as "regrettable" and said the strikes will "undoubtedly have an impact on patients and cause delays to NHS services".
But Carmel says the government needs to understand that "people aren't dying because nurses are striking, nurses are striking because people are dying".
Read more:
Nurses urge PM to take 'swift' action to avert strike
Junior doctors 'likely' to go on strike next month
Who is taking industrial action in 2023 and when?
Concern has also been raised over the impact the strikes will have on the NHS backlog of treatment and waiting lists.
Kim Whyman has been waiting for surgery on her elbow for two years.
It often dislocates and she has to "pop it back in" herself. Her operation to stabilise it was scheduled for Monday, but due to strikes it has been cancelled for the second time.
Have you been affected by the strikes? To share your experience anonymously, please email NHSstories@sky.uk
Mrs Whyman, from Norfolk, describes being in pain regularly and is worried about the amount of painkillers she has to take, over a longer period of time, while she waits for surgery.
She works as a receptionist in a GP surgery but is "angry" over her care being disrupted.
'It's not fair'
"I'm not very happy," she told Sky News, "you build yourself up to go into hospital and this is the second time it's been cancelled in just under a month.
"I understand where (nurses) are coming from. But it's everybody that's been affected by their strike. Not just nurses.
"It's patients and families, there are people worse off than me that are being cancelled as well. And it's not fair."
She said she wants immediate action from the government: "Give them a pay rise."
The RCN and other NHS unions in Wales called off strikes in Wales this week after receiving a new pay offer from the Welsh government, while negotiations in Scotland are ongoing.
In a statement from the government, Mr Barclay said: "Despite contingency measures in place, strikes by ambulance and nursing unions this week will inevitably cause further delays for patients who already face longer waits due to the COVID backlogs.
"We prioritised £250m of support last month for extra capacity in urgent and emergency care, but strikes this week will only increase the disruption faced by patients."
He added: "I have held constructive talks with the trade unions on pay and affordability and continue to urge them to call off the strikes. It is time for the trade unions to look forward and engage in a constructive dialogue about the Pay Review Body Process for the coming year."
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