Countrywide Health Service nurses in Britain conducted their first-ever national strike on Thursday, as a heated disagreement with the government over pay heightens hospital pressure during one of the busiest times of the year.
An estimated 100,000 nurses will go on strike at 76 hospitals and health centers, resulting in the cancellation of an estimated 70,000 appointments, operations, and surgeries in the publicly financed NHS in Britain.
The United Kingdom is facing a wave of industrial action this winter, with strikes hurting the rail network and postal service and airlines preparing for Christmas disruptions.
Tensions between unions and companies are being exacerbated by inflation rates of over 10% and salary offers of approximately 4%.
For many Britons this winter, the image of nurses on picket lines will be the most memorable of all the strikes that have occurred.
Thursday, December 15, a nurse displays a placard outside St. Thomas’ Hospital in London.
What a terrible day. Pat Cullen, the head of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) union, told the BBC on a Thursday picket line, “This is a horrible day for nursing, it is a tragic day for patients, patients in hospitals like this, and it is a tragic day for the people of this society and for our NHS.”
The widely admired nursing profession will shut down portions of the NHS, which, since its inception in 1948, has acquired national treasure status for being free at the point of use, impacting healthcare provision at a time when it is already stretched thin during the winter and with record-breaking backlogs caused by COVID delays.
Steve Barclay, minister of health, expressed sadness that the strike was proceeding.
“I’ve been working across government and with private-sector physicians to guarantee safe staffing levels, but I’m still concerned about the risk that strikes represent to patients,” he said.
Patients should continue to seek immediate medical care and attend appointments until instructed otherwise, according to Barclay.
Due to Thursday’s walkout, approximately 100 hospitals will have limited staff.
The nurses’ strike action on December 15 and 20 is unprecedented in the 106-year history of the British nursing union, but the RCN claims it has little alternative as workers struggle to make ends meet.
Nurses request a 19% salary increase, citing a decade of real-terms pay cutbacks and the fact that low pay causes staff shortages and dangerous patient care.
Cullen stated that the government’s refusal to negotiate salaries increased the likelihood of future strikes.
“In every room I enter with the secretary of state, he insists that he cannot discuss compensation,” she added. “Such days will continue to occur in the future.”
Ethnea Vaughan, a 50-year-old London-based practice development nurse, stated outside St. Thomas’ Hospital in central London that she believed nurses had no choice but to strike because the government had disregarded their complaints for years.
She told Reuters, “Nothing is changing, and after 27 years in nursing, all I see is a gradual deterioration in morale.”
In England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, the RCN had hoped for a similar result. The Scottish government avoided a nursing strike by holding pay negotiations.
However, the government has stated that it cannot afford to pay nurses more than the 4-5% suggested by an independent group, and that higher pay rises would necessitate cutting funds from frontline services.
Outside St. Thomas’ Hospital, nurses hold signs with Big Ben in the background.
According to the RCN, certain therapeutic areas will be spared from strike action, including chemotherapy, dialysis, and intensive care.
Prior to the nurse strike, a majority of British citizens supported the move, but after the walkouts begin, lawmakers will keenly monitor public sentiment.
»British nurses are on strike over a heated salary dispute«