After recent talks between the Royal College of Nursing and the health secretary failed to result in a solution, it was announced that there will be nurse strikes this week. The reasoning behind these strikes is two-fold; nurses are seeking greater pay and are concerned about the quality of patient safety.
Despite many supporting the strikes and what they represent, the question of how they will impact healthcare has also been raised. With nurses on strike, who is going to provide care for the patients? There is an understandable concern without nurses, patients won’t be adequately provided for and that hospital negligence claims may rise, inevitably costing the NHS more money.
Emergency care
Naturally, there is fear that with nurses on strike, patients will be left in positions that could be life-threatening.
However, the Royal College of Nursing (RNC) has clarified that this won’t be the case. There are legal practices in place that prevent strike action from endangering humans. As a result, staffing levels are going to be monitored closely to ensure that emergency care remains as unaffected as possible. The RNC has also stated that if more nurses are required in an emergency situation, they will be taken off strike to provide the necessary care.
It is worth noting that due to a lack of NHS funding, being short-staffed is already a very prevalent issue and something that is experienced on a daily basis.
Scheduled appointments
Nurse strikes will also have a significant impact on scheduled appointments due to take place on strike dates (Thursday, December 15th, and Tuesday, December 20th). Urgent care will of course take priority over non-urgent procedures, with operations and treatments such as being postponed to a later date.
An RCN spokesperson confirmed: “Cancer patients will get emergency and clinically urgent surgery, it is not in doubt.” The Union have also exempted chemotherapy treatments from the strike, although authorities have chosen to postpone treatments in some areas.
As a result of these postponements and in order to prevent a further backlog of appointments, some trusts will be offering Sunday and bank holiday services.
Nurse wellbeing
Expectantly, for many NHS workers, the last couple of years have been particularly challenging both mentally and physically.
NHS staff worked tirelessly through the pandemic whilst consistently being understaffed. This has therefore impacted the mental health of healthcare workers across the world. This, combined with the current cost of living crisis, means that many nurses are struggling considerably on a daily basis both financially and mentally.
If the government meets the RCN’s requests for higher pay as a result of the strikes, then it is hoped that these pay rises will positively impact the wellbeing of nurses across the country.
This should then have a positive impact on the care being provided to patients, as nurses will be able to focus more on patient safety.