Nursing union announces TWO more NHS strike dates

NHS nurses announces TWO more strike dates in January… but ambulance union CANCELS next week’s walk-out because of ‘incredible British public support’

The Royal College of Nursing will stage more walk-outs on January 18 and 19
Almost 30k operations and appointments were cancelled because of its strikes
Meanwhile, next week’s ambulance walk-outs by GMB have been cancelled

Nurses will strike again in the New Year, with chaos planned on back-to-back days.

The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) will stage more walk-outs on January 18 and 19. Even more dates will be confirmed next month.

Almost 30,000 operations and appointments were cancelled because of its strikes on December 15 and 20, which were the biggest in NHS history.

Meanwhile, next week’s ambulance walk-outs have been cancelled.

Striking nurses at Leeds General Hospital mocked Health Secretary Steve Barclay with a jokey rendition of Santa Clause Is Coming To Town while on the picket line on December 20

Royal College of Nursing (RCN) General Secretary Pat Cullen, centre, joined members of the RCN on the picket line outside the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle on December 20

EAST MIDLANDS

NHS Derby and Derbyshire ICB
Derbyshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust
Derbyshire Community Health Services NHS Foundation Trust

EAST

Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust
Norfolk Community Health and Care NHS Trust
Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust
West Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust
NHS Mid and South Essex ICB
NHS Norfolk and Waveney ICB
NHS Suffolk and North East Essex ICB

LONDON

Hounslow and Richmond Community Healthcare NHS Trust
St George’s University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Kings College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust
University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
NHS South West London ICB

NORTH WEST

University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust
Tameside and Glossop Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust
Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
The Christie NHS Foundation Trust
Wrightington Wigan and Leigh NHS Foundation Trust
Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
Mid Cheshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Bridgewater Community Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust
Wirral Community Health and Care NHS Foundation Trust
Wirral University Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
NHS Cheshire and Merseyside ICB
St Helens and Knowsley Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust
NHS Lancashire and South Cumbria ICB
Cheshire and Wirral Partnership NHS Foundation Trust

NORTH EAST

County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust
South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
North of England CSU (NECS)

SOUTH EAST

Kent Community Health NHS Foundation Trust
East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust
University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust
Sussex Community NHS Foundation Trust
Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust
Queen Victoria Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
NHS Kent and Medway ICB
NHS Surrey Heartlands ICB
Southern Health NHS Foundation Trust
Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust
University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust
Solent NHS Trust

SOUTH WEST

Cornwall Partnership NHS Foundation Trust
Dorset Healthcare University NHS Foundation Trust
Dorset County Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust
Salisbury NHS Foundation Trust
University Hospitals Dorset NHS Foundation Trust
Somerset NHS Foundation Trust
Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust
NHS Dorset ICB (Our Dorset)

WEST MIDLANDS

Midlands Partnership NHS Foundation Trust
Shropshire Community Health NHS Trust
Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
Dudley Integrated Health and Care NHS Trust
NHS Black Country ICB
Midlands and Lancashire CSU

YORKSHIRE AND THE HUMBER

Sheffield Health and Social Care NHS Foundation Trust
Barnsley Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
York and Scarborough Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust
Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Sheffield Childrens NHS Foundation Trust
NHS West Yorkshire ICB

NATIONAL

NHS Resolution
NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT)

Who is Pat Cullen? The ‘taskmaster’ organising NHS’s biggest walkout

Royal College of Nursing boss Pat Cullen

Thousands of paramedics and ambulance staff represented by GMB were preparing to strike again on December 28.

But the union — one of three to take part in December 20’s action, the biggest 999 walk-out in 30 years — claimed it had U-turned because it was ‘overwhelmed’ by the ‘incredible British public’.

Rachel Harrison, GMB national secretary said: ‘People across the country have been wonderful in backing us and we care so much about them too. We know the public will appreciate being able to enjoy Christmas without any additional anxiety. They support us and we support them.’

Meanwhile, Unison has confirmed plans for even more disruption in January with two bigger ambulance walk-outs.

Members in five services in England will strike on January 11 and 23. The action will involve all employees — not just 999 crews, as was the case on Wednesday.

Unite, the other union behind this week’s chaotic ambulance walk-outs, confirmed staff in Wales will strike in January, too.

Unions want inflation-busting pay rises, with the RCN demanding 19 per cent.

Its boss has, however, said she will compromise if ministers were willing to negotiate.

But the Government has refused to stump up any extra cash, sticking to its original offer of around 4 per cent.

Members of the RCN on the picket line outside St Thomas’ Hospital on December 20

Some 4,560 inpatient procedures were rescheduled because of the RCN action over the two days. This includes routine procedures like hip and knee replacements, which require an overnight stay in hospital. Another 25,000 outpatient appointments were postponed across England because of the walk-outs last Thursday and yesterday. This usually includes appointments, X-rays and minor procedures. Most of the chaos was caused at Nottingham University Hospitals (2,413), followed by Newcastle-Upon-Tyne Hospitals (2,313). Map shows total for both inpatient and outpatient appointments cancelled

What is the truth about the nursing crisis?

NHS nurses: A workforce where women outnumber men by a significant margin and a significant number are approaching retirement or seeking a better work-life balance. Pay is the central issue at the heart of the strikes, with the average nurse earing £37,000. This estimate includes both new graduates, who start on £27,055, and very senior nurses who earn more

Health Secretary Steve Barclay is considering fast-tracking next year’s NHS pay rise in a bid to resolve the dispute. He has already hinted that staff can ‘look forward’ to next year’s review.

RCN chief executive Pat Cullen said: ‘The Government had the opportunity to end this dispute before Christmas but instead they have chosen to push nursing staff out into the cold again in January.

‘I do not wish to prolong this dispute, but the Prime Minister has left us with no choice.’

Ms Cullen, who joined picket lines last week, added: ‘The public support has been heart-warming.

‘And I am more convinced than ever that this is the right thing to do for patients and the future of the NHS.

‘The voice of nursing will not be ignored. Staff shortages and low pay make patient care unsafe – the sooner ministers come to the negotiating table, the sooner this can be resolved. I will not dig in, if they don’t dig in.’

Dozens of hospitals took part in last week’s RCN strikes, which saw a bank holiday-style service ran in many wards across England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Cancer patients were among those denied care in the RCN’s first national strike in its 106-year history.

Some services, including chemotherapy and dialysis, were exempt.

January’s strikes are only planned for England at the moment — but the union hinted that action is looming for the rest of the UK.

Some 9,999 staff were absent from work due to the walk-outs on December 15. Another 11,509 were recorded for December 20. Most disruption was logged in the South West, with 4,748 staff taking part over the two days

Ambulance workers on the picket line in London on December 21, in an ongoing dispute over pay

Nearly 70,000 patients were whizzed to hospitals by 999 crews last week. But more than 28,000 — or 40 per cent — faced delays of at least 30 minutes before being passed to casualty teams

Action could rumble on for six months, unless the two sides come to an agreement.

It comes as the NHS is braced for its ‘darkest’ ever Christmas as it battles a flu surge, a bed-blocking crisis and the aftermath of strikes.

Health leaders warn the service is going into the weekend with an unsafe number of patients on wards, skeleton staffing levels and is ‘dangerously close to overheating completely’.

The public was last night urged not to socialise with friends and relatives if unwell over the festive period to avoid passing on infections and overwhelming the NHS.

Ambulance handover delays at A&E are the worst on record, leaving crews unable to respond to new 999 calls for hours at a time.

And enquiries to NHS 111 are approaching an all-time-high, with worried parents seeking advice on the Strep A outbreak raging through schools.

Saffron Cordery, chief executive of NHS Providers, said: ‘Trust leaders are expecting this Christmas to be one of their darkest to date.’

There are fears that patients who delayed seeking care when nurses and ambulance staff picketed this week will now scramble to be seen.

However, there are likely to be fewer staff available to deal with the influx as hospitals operate stripped back weekend and Christmas Day rotas.

In other related news…

How bad are ambulance delays at YOUR hospital? Use our interactive tool to find out… as data reveals 85% of paramedic crews face 30minute waits outside busiest A&Es

Prepare for MORE ambulance chaos! Unison announces two more strike dates in January as another union plots walk-out in Wales

Don’t give granny flu at Christmas: Festive revellers are urged not to mix with vulnerable relatives if they are ill to avoid overloading struggling NHS

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