Health Secretary slams ‘disrespectful’ walkout as most cancers nurses strike
Health Secretary Steve Barclay has described the newest nurses strike as “disrespectful”, with industrial motion to finish at midnight on Monday (May 1).
Members of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) in additional than 100 NHS trusts are concerned within the 28-hour walkout, together with most cancers nurses who’re hanging for the primary time.
Mr Barclay slammed the newest walkout, saying: “I think this strike is premature and is disrespectful to those trade unions that will be meeting on Tuesday.”
Mr Barclay will meet junior medical doctors’ leaders on Tuesday for preliminary talks following their 96-hour walkout at Easter.
RCN common secretary Pat Cullen stated that measures had been in place to maintain sufferers protected after considerations had been raised on the impression of the strikes on emergency providers.
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The union initially stated it will not conform to derogations – broad areas of care the place staffing is assured regardless of industrial motion – however granted some exemptions on Friday in an obvious U-turn.
Great Ormond Street Hospital is amongst organisations the place nurses have agreed to derogations after it voiced “serious concerns” about affected person security.
However, no exemptions have been made for most cancers providers, which means workers from these wards will stroll out for the primary time within the union’s historical past. This is totally different from earlier strikes when most cancers care was protected.
Ms Cullen informed Sky News’s Sophy Ridge On Sunday programme: “There are national exemptions in place for a range of services, for emergency departments, for intensive care units, for neonatal units, paediatric intensive care units, those really acute urgent services.
“We have put national exemptions in place, we’ve worked tirelessly with NHS England.”
Prof Pat Price, oncologist and co-founder of the CatchUpWithCancer marketing campaign, stated: “Whatever the rights or wrongs of the industrial action, this will clearly have an impact on cancer patients, which is desperately sad for everyone.”
Ms Cullen additionally warned that industrial motion may final for years except the Government adjustments its method.
She informed the Telegraph: “If we have the same approach to pay negotiations next year, do we just grind the cycle again?
“Well, there is a strong possibility, because it appears that for our nursing staff that is the only way that they can get their voice heard.”
Ms Cullen is underneath stress to barter a brand new deal for her union members after they rejected a Government pay provide that she really useful they settle for.
Transport Secretary Mark Harper urged the RCN – who initially demanded a 19% enhance – to just accept the pay provide for its members.
Mr Harper stated: “I would urge them to think again and to do what the other trade unions in the health service have done, which is to accept what I think is a fair and reasonable pay offer, reflecting the value that we do place on hard-working NHS staff.”
Members of the NHS Staff Council, which represents 14 well being unions, will meet on Tuesday to substantiate the outcomes of their members’ ballots on the Government’s pay deal.
The deal features a 5% enhance for 2023-24 plus a one-off cost of a minimum of £1,655 for 2022-23, and the Staff Council are anticipated to agree to just accept the provide after the GMB backed it.