Pavilion Publishing and Media Ltd
Blue Sky Offices Shoreham, 25 Cecil Pashley Way, Shoreham-by-Sea, West Sussex, BN43 5FF, UNITED KINGDOM
Tel: +44 (0)1273 434 943
Email: [email protected]
As 100,000 nursing staff begin to take strike action today (15 December), the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) General Secretary and Chief Executive, Pat Cullen, has told patients: “This strike is for you too”.
Nurses have come under fire for choosing to strike, with Tory police and crime commissioner Steve Turner describing the strikes as “criminal [because of] the pressure they put on other services.”
“From a policing perspective, if there isn’t an ambulance or [people] can’t get hold of a healthcare professional while [nurses] are striking, they’re going to pick up the phone and ring a police officer.
“What I’m saying is you’re putting people’s lives at risk and you’re putting other people under pressure by taking this action,” he said.
The RCN has repeatedly asked ministers to open pay talks
But Ms Cullen says: “It is not unreasonable to demand better. This is not something that can wait. We are committed to our patients and always will be.”
“Nurses are not relishing this, we are acting with a very heavy heart. It has been a difficult decision taken by hundreds of thousands who begin to remove their labour from tomorrow in a bid to be heard, recognised and valued.
“It is a tragic first for nursing, the RCN and the NHS. Nursing staff on picket lines is a sign of failure on the part of governments.
“Our commitment to patients and safe care means that vital services are kept running. The scaremongering we have seen did upset some but also demonstrated the disrespect afforded to nurses for raising their voice.
“My plea to patients tonight is to know that this strike is for you too – it’s about waiting lists, treatments that are cancelled year-round and the very future of the NHS,” she said.
Ms Cullen says the RCN have repeatedly asked the Health Secretary Steven Barclay to open formal pay negotiations, but he has refused.
“I have tried to negotiate and get governments to act. They’ve had every chance but they chose to turn their back on us. As hard as this is, we won’t turn our backs on our patients. That’s why we’ll be on picket lines today, and I will be with you,” she said.
“Deeply regrettable” that strike action is going ahead, says health secretary
Mr Barclay says it is “deeply regrettable” that strike action is going ahead, and the government doesn’t have the means to give nurses the pay rise they are asking for.
He said: “My number one priority is to keep patients safe – I’ve been working across government and with medics outside the public sector to ensure safe staffing levels – but I do remain concerned about the risk that strikes pose to patients. Nevertheless, the NHS is open and patients should continue to seek urgent medical care – and attend appointments, unless they’ve been contacted by the NHS.
“These are challenging times but we have accepted the recommendations of the independent NHS Pay Review Body in full to give nurses a pay rise of at least £1,400 – on top of a 3% pay rise last year when wider public sector pay was frozen. Further pay increases would mean taking money away from frontline services at a time when we are tackling record waiting lists as a result of the pandemic.”
