Nurses to strike in lead up to Christmas - BBC

Nurses successful England, Wales and Northern Ireland are to onslaught for 2 days adjacent period successful what is acceptable to beryllium their biggest walkout successful the NHS's history.

The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) announced strikes connected 15 and 20 December successful its wage quality with the government.

Nurses volition inactive supply exigency care, but regular services volition beryllium hit.

The RCN said it had been fixed nary prime aft ministers would not reopen talks, but the authorities said the 19% wage emergence demanded was unaffordable.

RCN wide caput Pat Cullen said: "Ministers person chosen onslaught action.

"Nursing unit person had capable of being taken for granted, capable of debased wage and unsafe staffing levels, capable of not being capable to springiness our patients the attraction they deserve."

Under commercialized national laws, the RCN has to guarantee life-preserving attraction is provided during the strikes, which volition past from 08:00 to 20:00 GMT.

This is apt to mean immoderate urgent crab services, urgent tests and scans and ongoing attraction for susceptible patients volition beryllium protected alongside A&E and intensive attraction - though it volition beryllium up to section wellness bosses and national leaders to negociate nonstop staffing levels connected onslaught days.

But it seems astir definite the walkout volition summation the backlog successful non-urgent infirmary attraction - a grounds 7 cardinal radical are already connected the waiting database successful England.

Louise Ansari, from the Healthwatch England diligent watchdog, said she was "concerned" astir the interaction connected this radical of patients.

Hospital caregiver Shaun Williams lone started moving arsenic a caregiver a twelvemonth ago.

He said the thought of striking makes him sad, but helium is prepared to bash it.

"I americium atrocious we are having to bash this.

"But we are doing it for the close reasons, we are doing it for diligent safety.

"You are moving connected reserves astir days. We bash not person capable unit and due to the fact that of the deficiency of nurses, patients are astatine risk.

"Unless we wage nurses much we are not going to pull radical oregon support people."

And helium says unless the concern changes helium whitethorn adjacent discontinue nursing.

GP services, however, volition beryllium unaffected arsenic nurses moving successful practices were not entitled to instrumentality portion successful the ballot.

And due to the fact that a bid of idiosyncratic ballots were held astatine NHS trusts and boards alternatively than 1 nationalist ballot, nurses astatine much than 40% of England's hospitals, intelligence wellness and assemblage services are not entitled to onslaught due to the fact that the turnout was excessively debased successful those votes.

However, walkouts tin hap astatine each of Northern Ireland's wellness boards and successful all-but-one successful Wales, the Aneurin Bevan.

What is not wide yet is conscionable however galore of the services wherever onslaught enactment tin instrumentality spot volition spot walkouts.

It is imaginable the RCN could stagger the enactment truthful immoderate services spell connected onslaught successful December, with others to travel suit adjacent twelvemonth if the concern enactment continues.

It is seen by the national arsenic a mode of limiting the disruption to patients, portion keeping the unit connected the government.

Individual NHS trusts and boards volition not find retired until adjacent week whether they volition spot walkouts connected the 2 dates, due to the fact that that is erstwhile the ceremonial notices volition spell out.

The RCN has called for a emergence of 5% supra the RPI ostentation rate, which presently stands astatine supra 14%, but nary UK federation has offered adjacent to that.

In England and Wales, NHS staff, including nurses, person been fixed a emergence of astatine slightest £1,400 - worthy astir 4% connected mean for nurses.

In Northern Ireland, nurses are yet to person a wage grant due to the fact that determination is nary moving government.

During the ballot, the results of which were announced 2 weeks ago, the RCN had argued this year's below-inflation wage grant came aft years of squeezes connected nurse's salaries.

But England Health Secretary Steve Barclay said the RCN's demands were not affordable, adding helium "deeply regretted" national members would beryllium taking action.

He pointed retired the authorities had met the recommendations of the autarkic NHS Pay Review Body successful giving its award.

And it followed a 3% wage emergence past year, successful designation of enactment during the pandemic, contempt a public-sector wage freeze.

"Our precedence is keeping patients safe. The NHS has tried and tested plans successful spot to minimise disruption," helium added.

The Welsh authorities said it was incapable to participate wage talks without other backing from the UK government.

Labour shadiness wellness caput Wes Streeting said talks should restart - though helium would not perpetrate to paying the above-inflation wage emergence the RCN was seeking.

"Why connected world is the wellness caput refusing to negociate with nurses? Patients volition ne'er forgive the Conservatives for this negligence."

This volition lone beryllium the 2nd clip RCN members person been connected strike.

In 2019, nurses successful Northern Ireland walked retired implicit pay, portion nurses who are members of Unison successful England walked retired successful 2014 implicit pay.

A big of different large wellness unions, including Unison, the Royal College of Midwives, GMB and Unite, person each started balloting members.

Are you a diligent whose attraction volition beryllium straight affected by the onslaught action? What are your questions astir the planned strikes? You tin get successful interaction by emailing: haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk.

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