Posted 04 May 2023 - 14:32
Posted 04 May 2023 - 14:32
News
Nurses’ strikes ‘making it harder to clear NHS backlog’
Deputy chief nurse says each walkout makes managing delays more difficut, as nurses’ union insists members are ‘apologetic’ over impact on patients
Deputy chief nurse says each walkout makes managing delays more difficut, as nurses’ union insists members are ‘apologetic’ over impact on patients
Nursing and other strikes are making it harder to clear the backlog of patients waiting for treatment, NHS leaders have warned.
More than 11,000 appointments were cancelled due to the nurses’ strike in England last weekend, according to NHS England. More than half of those cancellations (5,777) were acute outpatient appointments scheduled for 2 May, which was to be the final strike day until the High Court ruled it illegal.
These figures do not even offer a complete picture of disruption, as the NHS said many employers have not yet provided their data.
Strikes make it harder to manage backlogs
At the peak of the industrial action, 5,034 nursing staff were on strike across 135 NHS trusts during the curtailed 28-hour RCN walkout from 30 April to 1 May.
England’s deputy chief nurse Charlotte McArdle said each strike day makes it harder for the NHS to tackle to backlog.
‘Our staff are doing all they possibly can to manage the disruption and deliver rescheduled appointments as quickly as possible, but there’s no doubt each round of industrial action makes it more difficult for the NHS to tackle the backlog,’ she said.
NHS Providers deputy chief executive Saffron Cordery said soaring waitlists will continue unless the government finds a way to solve disputes with unions.
Strikes are about patient safety, insists RCN
An RCN spokesperson said the impact on patients is the ‘hardest part’ of strike action, with nursing staff ‘apologetic about the situation for individual patients affected’.
‘We are taking this action because every day nursing staff and patients are suffering as staff shortages affect patient safety’ they added.
‘This campaign has always been about patients and a safe NHS. The government will never tackle the backlog without nursing staff nor fill the record number of unfilled nurse jobs without paying them fairly.’
The RCN wrote to health and social care secretary Steve Barclay to confirm it remains in dispute with the government over pay despite other unions in the NHS Staff Council voting to accept the 5% pay offer. The college is expected to open another ballot in the coming weeks as it seeks to secure a fresh strike mandate.
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