Dear sir,
I wished to write to debunk several myths I have read surrounding the Nurse’s strike action that is taking place and give the real reasons why strike action is taking place.
I’ve been a Registered Nurse for the past 16 years. I’ve worked in various settings but predominantly in Intensive Care. Nursing has changed a lot in that time. I have witnessed the deterioration in support and services that has brought about the nurses strikes in England. This action has not been taken lightly by anyone within the healthcare sector and many feel it is a great shame it has come to this.
Until 1995, the Royal College of Nursing had a no strike policy. This policy was changed following the stark deterioration of services. The Nursing strikes are the first strikes in 106 years. Unfortunately, we still have a situation where the Government will not even sit at a table to discuss the underlying issues.
Not all Trusts have met the threshold in order to strike either, so there are many areas not involved in the strike action at all.
Only one Union is striking currently and that’s the Royal College of Nurses. Staff from acute areas, for example, A&E and ICU are understandably not allowed to strike due to how critical the area is that they work in, as well as already being that short staffed there is no room for any staff to leave the floor.
There are several misleading headlines that have been in the press recently which I wished to address.
1. ‘Mr Zahawi controversially urged nurses to call off upcoming strike action over pay and “send a very clear message” of unity to Russian president Vladimir Putin.’ – but of course Nurses have no control whatsoever surrounding the war in Ukraine, and the two issues are completely disconnected.
2. ‘Giving in to nurses' pay demands would "stoke" inflation and have a "huge impact" on public finances’ - Nurses also have no control over inflation. Inflation was markedly worsened by Government action of a dismal budget in only October of this year.
4. ‘Nurses have already had a pay rise, now they want more’ - Nurses did receive a £1400 pay rise in June 2022. Making the base rate for a nurse now £12.02 per hour. Car parking fees then rose to £400 per year (could have been more or less depending on each trust), Inflation is now at almost 11%, Food prices have soared as well as energy price hikes that have increased 11-fold.
The Government says that they have an ‘independent pay review body’ judging what NHS pay should be, but this is not entirely true, as the body itself is chosen by the government and has to work within the limits set out by the government. Of course, ministers can also entirely ignore this body, just like they did in 2014.
In relation to the nation’s finances following the furlough scheme, we do not need to look far for examples of utter wastes of public money. For example, the scandal of £9bn on faulty PPE, £1M per day on PPE storage, and £37billion+ on a wasted track and trace system.
7 million patients in England were waiting to start routine hospital treatment in November, the highest figure since records began in August 2007. The NHS recovery plan is pointless without more staff to tackle waiting lists.
The strike is actually less about money and more about the continuation and sustainability of the profession and patient safety. No nurse wants to go to work and feel that overwhelmed with their workload they do not know where to start. Ratios of at least 1:10 are now routine. Anyone who has ever cared for a sick loved one will know that is unmanageable, as well as unsafe.
One of the main reasons for the strike action is because the situation we find in our work place is hindering our ability to give the care that society deserves.
We know that hospitals with a higher patient to nurse ratio (less nurses more patients) have a 26% increase in mortality. That’s just not acceptable, and utterly shameful.
We know that with a safe staffing ratio of 1:5 or less, length of stay in hospital and mortality is significantly decreased.
Nurse numbers are directly proportionate to patient safety, patient outcome and reduced NHS costs including bed days and waiting lists.
There are 27,143 nurses left on the register in 2022, however there are 47,000 unfilled nursing posts in NHS England alone. The vacancy rate has increased by 10,000 in less than 12 months. Nurses cited workplace culture and work pressures as their reasons for leaving and these vital members of staff are simply not being replaced. The removal of the student nurse’s bursary as part of austerity measures was disastrous for recruitment. This created a huge barrier for people wanting to enter nursing.
Nurses now face the reality of calling out this situation. They must raise the alarm to the general public in the hope they have support in strike action or they continue to muddle on through their shifts. Constantly hoping that being that busy doesn’t lead them to a lapse in concentration that can lead to a catastrophic mistake involving someone’s life.
I just wanted people to take the time to understand what the strike is really about. I would ask that if you take anything away from this it’s that you understand this is less about money and everything about safety, standards and value. Remember, no matter what sector of society you work in, no one can pour from an empty cup.
Many thanks
Lisa Miller
Intensive care nurse
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