The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) state they are striking for the future of the NHS, but what about the patients who need care and treatment now?
Throughout December, RCN and ambulance staff represented by GMB are striking over pay and working conditions. For further information on the ambulance strikes, see our recent article here.
In relation to the nursing strikes, thousands have gone on strike after not accepting a 4.75% pay rise on the 15 and 20 December 2022. It has been suggested, depending on negotiations with the Government, strikes could last for some time, heading potentially into May 2023.
This is the first time RCN has gone on strike in England and the largest nurses strike in our history.
Nurses at the following hospitals voted to go on strike:
- Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Foundation Trust
- Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust
- Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust
- North Central London integrated care board (ICB)
- Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust
- Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust
- Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
- Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust is
- Bath, North East Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire ICB
- Devon ICB
- Devon Partnership NHS Trust
- Gloucestershire Health and Care NHS Foundation Trust
- Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
- Gloucestershire ICB
- Great Western Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
- North Bristol NHS Trust
- Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust
- Royal United Hospitals Bath NHS Foundation Trust
- Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust
- University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust
- Birmingham and Solihull ICB
- Birmingham Women’s and Children’s NHS Foundation Trust
- Herefordshire and Worcestershire Health and Care NHS Trust
- Royal Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
- University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust
- Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust
- Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust / PA Archive
- Kettering General Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
- Northamptonshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust
- Nottingham and Nottinghamshire ICB
- Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust
- Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust
- Addenbrooke’s University Hospital in Cambridge / PA Wire
- Cambridgeshire Community Services NHS Trust
- Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust
- Cambridge University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
- Hertfordshire Community NHS Trust
- Hertfordshire and West Essex ICB
- Royal Papworth Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
- Alder Hey Children’s NHS Foundation Trust
- Clatterbridge Cancer Centre NHS Found Trust
- Liverpool Heart and Chest Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
- Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
- Liverpool Women’s NHS Foundation Trust
- Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust
- Walton Centre NHS Foundation Trust
- Wirral University Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
- Furness General Hospital, part of University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay / PA Archive
- County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust
- Gateshead Health NHS Foundation Trust
- Newcastle Upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
- Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust
- Yorkshire and the Humber
- Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
- Leeds Community Healthcare NHS Trust
- Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust
- Betsi Cadwaladr University Local Health Board
- Cardiff and Vale University Health Board
- Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board
- Digital Health and Care Wales
- Health Education and Improvement Wales
- Hywel Dda University Health Board
- Powys Teaching Local Health Board
- Public Health Wales
- Swansea Bay University Health Board
- Velindre NHS Trust
- Welsh Ambulance Services NHS Trust Headquarters
- Wales Shared Services Partnership
The strikes will have inevitably and unfortunately affected the time in which patients were seen and treated by the above establishments and pushed back pre-arranged appointments, such as for cancer treatment.
This is off the back of the NHS already having long waiting lists, the NHS never having recovered from the implications of COVID in 2020 and the current winter season.
In the meantime, approximately 1 in 9 NHS nurses in England left active service in 2022 primarily due to the pressure they felt and exhaustion.
Furthermore, there were in June 2022 approximately 46,800 nursing vacancies in England. Meanwhile, the number of people joining the NHS was not filling all the vacancies.
Here at Oakwood Solicitors, we support the nurses seeking fair pay and safer working conditions. However, considering the above, it is inevitable mistakes will occur and an innocent bystander may experience lifetime implications as a result in light of such poor staffing levels.
If you or a loved one have been affected by the nursing strikes and/or any failures by the NHS, please feel free to contact us.
Further reading
Medical misdiagnosis or delay – Oakwood Solicitors
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Kathryn Stitt is a Trainee Solicitor in the Medical Negligence Department, having commenced her training contract at Oakwood Solicitors in September 2021. Kathryn was previously a Paralegal in the M…
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