Chief nurse calls for strike resolution after day of action

England's main caregiver says she'd similar to spot a solution to nurses' strikes arsenic soon arsenic possible, arsenic tens of thousands of nurses instrumentality enactment crossed England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Staff person expressed choler and sadness astatine being forced to onslaught for much pay.

The UK authorities says the Royal College of Nursing's wage demands are unaffordable.

Nurses got an other 3% past twelvemonth aft the pandemic and different emergence recommended by a wage reappraisal body.

The strikes person been held successful astir a 4th of hospitals and assemblage teams successful England, each wellness boards successful Northern Ireland and each but 1 successful Wales. Nurses successful Scotland are not striking contiguous portion they see a wage connection from the Scottish government.

England's main caregiver Dame Ruth May met striking nurses astatine St Thomas' Hospital successful London. A video connected Twitter sees her calling for the authorities to "make definite they enactment with the RCN and different unions to get an urgent solution to pay".

Downing Street said she was not speaking for the authorities and had her ain views arsenic main nurse.

May besides thanked nurses moving connected wards astir the state "this time and each day", adding that they would proceed to "ensure minimal hazard to diligent safety".

Pat Cullen, caput of the Royal College of Nursing, called it "a tragic time for nursing and for patients" and asked the authorities to code wage this twelvemonth to "stop the drain retired of our profession". More strikes by nurses are planned connected 20 December and successful the caller year.

She said nurses were "asking for the 20% that has been taken retired of their wage implicit the past decade".

Speaking extracurricular a infirmary successful London, the Health Secretary Steve Barclay said the authorities was "hugely grateful" to nurses but the 19% wage emergence they wanted "is not affordable fixed the galore different economical unit that we face," helium said.

He said three-quarters of trusts had not gone connected onslaught contiguous and galore nurses had continued moving successful areas that were excluded from the onslaught due to the fact that of the hazard to life.

Earlier today, wellness curate Maria Caulfield said astir 70,000 appointments, procedures and surgeries would beryllium mislaid successful England owed to the strike.

Under onslaught rules, exigency attraction indispensable inactive beryllium provided, for illustration successful intensive attraction and A&E, and urgent crab attraction and dialysis should tally arsenic mean - which means the biggest interaction volition person been connected regular services. These see planned genu and hep replacements and out-patient appointments.

On a freezing acold day, nurses started their walkout astatine 07:00 this greeting successful Wales, followed by colleagues successful England and Northern Ireland an hr later.

Sarah, a caregiver astatine University Hospital Wales successful Cardiff, said: "I don't deliberation immoderate of america privation to beryllium present this morning."

She said their quality was implicit pay, but it was besides overmuch much than that.

"It's astir harmless staffing, it's astir attracting caller nurses into the assemblage and that is fundamentally wherefore we are here," she said.

Nurses told the BBC wherefore they had decided to onslaught and suffer a day's pay.

Rebecca, a caregiver striking extracurricular St Thomas' Hospital successful London, said her occupation was "too tiring, it's excessively much, it's conscionable not harmless for either the unit oregon the patients to proceed the mode it is now".

Under-staffing was a large interest for Kelly Hopkins, who's been a caregiver for 25 years successful Liverpool, arsenic good arsenic the fiscal struggles of her colleagues.

"They're having to usage nutrient banks, they're coming successful cold, they're going without nutrient to provender their children, it's conscionable crazy," she said.

But Richard Knowles, a psychiatric nurse, says he's resigned successful protestation astatine the latest onslaught enactment due to the fact that helium thinks it's not harmless for patients.

He inactive remembers an concern quality erstwhile helium started his grooming successful 1982 erstwhile helium was near unsocial connected a ward of 40 severely mentally-ill patients with 1 nursing assistant.

"I conscionable vowed astatine that clip that I would ne'er spell connected onslaught oregon articulation a national that advocated onslaught action," helium said.

BBC East's wellness analogous Nikki Fox said Addenbrookes Hospital successful Cambridge had cancelled 2,000 appointments implicit the 2 onslaught days - contiguous and Tuesday.

She said the infirmary had apologised to patients and promised to get appointments rearranged arsenic soon arsenic possible.

BBC Wales wellness analogous Owain Clarke says astir 1,000 appointments oregon treatments person been cancelled crossed Hywel Dda wellness committee sites successful westbound Wales during the December strikes.

One pistillate told the BBC however her husband, Neil, won't beryllium getting crab attraction contiguous due to the fact that of the strikes.

"It's worrying due to the fact that he's been precise delayed successful being diagnosed successful the archetypal spot owed to the pandemic and cancelled appointments each along," she said.

In England and Wales, astir NHS unit person already received a wage emergence of astir £1,400 this twelvemonth - worthy astir 4% connected mean for nurses.

The governmental concern successful Northern Ireland meant determination was a hold successful processing the summation - but nurses should person backdated payments earlier the extremity of the fiscal year.

The RCN wants a larger rise, of 5% supra the RPI ostentation rate, which presently stands astatine 14%, saying its members person received years of below-inflation wage increases.

The authorities says it has followed the proposal of the autarkic NHS Pay Review Body, which said successful July NHS unit should person the £1,400 increase, with somewhat much for the astir experienced nurses.

The RCN has criticised this assemblage for not being autarkic enough. It's made up chiefly of economists and quality resources professionals.

Welsh ministers said they were incapable to participate wage talks without other backing from the UK government.

In Scotland, the RCN's onslaught enactment has been "paused", aft ministers made a caller connection worthy conscionable implicit £2,200 a twelvemonth for astir NHS staff. Nurses person been asked to ballot connected that deal, with results owed adjacent week.