Your questions answered about striking nurses
Tens of thousands of nurses are to participate in the first national walkout of the NHS.
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Your support makes all the difference.Nurses across England, Wales and Northern Ireland are to stage the first national walkout on Thursday.
The PA news agency has answered key questions about the strike:
– Why are nurses striking?
The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) balloted its members over industrial action in a dispute over pay.
It has argued that low pay is driving “chronic understaffing” which puts patients at risk and leaves nursing staff overworked, underpaid and undervalued.
– Is there really a crisis in the workforce?
The number of nurses and midwives registered to work in the UK has grown to a record level – some 771,445 were on the Nursing and Midwifery Council register in September.
But separate figures from NHS Digital show there were a record 47,496 full-time equivalent nursing vacancies in England at the end of September, representing a vacancy rate of 11.9%.
– How many nurses will be on strike?
Tens of thousands of nurses are to take part in the walk out – originally it was anticipated that up to 100,000 would strike but this figure changed due to the various “derogations” which have occurred in recent weeks where nurses have agreed to provide certain services during strike days.
– When will the strikes take place?
The strikes are scheduled for Thursday December 15 and Tuesday December 20, although not all organisations taking part are participating on both days.
– What happens if I’m sick?
People who need emergency or urgent care will still get help. The strikes will affect other elements of care but people will have been contacted in advance to be told of changes to pre-planned care and encouraged to attend appointments unless they have been instructed otherwise. GP surgeries and pharmacies will be running as normal.
– What has the Royal College of Nursing asked for?
The Royal College of Nursing asked for a 12.5% uplift in pay in 2020. Somewhere during the dispute it was claimed that nurses wanted a “5% above inflation rise” – presumably when inflation was 7.5% or thereabouts.
– So what has been offered?
The independent Pay Review Body recommended that the majority of NHS staff on the so-called Agenda for Change contracts are to be given a £1,400 uplift in pay.
The Nuffield Trust has estimated that this is the equivalent to an average of 4.3% rise for qualified nurses.
The RCN has previously said that despite this year’s pay award, experienced nurses are worse off by 20% in real terms due to successive below-inflation awards since 2010.
– What has the Government said?
The Government accepted the recommendation by the pay review body.
And it has said that union demands are “not affordable” in the current economic climate, pointing out that each additional 1% pay rise for all staff on the Agenda for Change contract would cost around £700 million a year. Although the Pay Review Body estimates that each 1% increase in pay adds around £500.5 million to the Agenda for Change pay bill in England, £29.5 million in Northern Ireland and £37.5 million in Wales.
The Department of Health and Social Care said that using October’s RPI inflation data, a 5% above inflation rise would equate to a pay rise of 19.2%.
It said that uplifting pay for all staff on the Agenda for Change contract – which also includes staff such as midwives, ambulance workers, porters and cleaners – by 19.2%, instead of the existing pay award, would cost “around an additional £10 billion”.
Officials have said that this would hamper the NHS’s efforts in tackling the record backlog of care.
But the RCN has not specifically asked for a 19.2% pay uplift.
A separate pay offer has been made in Scotland.
– What has the NHS said:
Officials in England have said that they would like to see a resolution to the dispute as soon as possible “but pay is a matter for the Government and the trade unions”.
– Where will the strikes take place?
Not every hospital will be affected by strike action. Here is the official list of trusts and NHS organisations taking part, released by the RCN.
EnglandEast MidlandsKettering General Hospital NHS Foundation TrustNHS Nottingham and Nottinghamshire ICBNorthamptonshire Healthcare NHS Foundation TrustNottingham University Hospitals NHS TrustNottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust
EasternCambridge University Hospital NHS Foundation TrustCambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation TrustCambridgeshire Community Services NHS TrustHertfordshire Community NHS TrustNHS Hertfordshire and West Essex ICBRoyal Papworth Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
LondonGreat Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Foundation TrustGuys and St Thomas NHS Foundation TrustImperial College Healthcare NHS TrustNHS North Central London ICBRoyal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust
North WestAlder Hey Children’s NHS Foundation TrustLiverpool Heart and Chest Hospital NHS Found TrustLiverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation TrustLiverpool Women’s NHS Foundation TrustMersey Care NHS Foundation TrustThe Clatterbridge Cancer Centre NHS Found TrustThe Walton Centre NHS Foundation Trust
NorthernGateshead Health NHS Foundation TrustNorthumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation TrustThe Newcastle Upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
South EastOxford Health NHS Foundation TrustOxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation TrustRoyal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust
South WestDevon Partnership NHS TrustGloucestershire Health and Care NHS Foundation TrustGloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation TrustGreat Western Hospitals NHS Foundation TrustNHS Bath, North East Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire ICB (BSW Together)NHS Devon ICB (One Devon)NHS Gloucestershire ICB (One Gloucestershire)North Bristol NHS TrustRoyal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation TrustRoyal United Hospitals Bath NHS Foundation TrustTorbay and South Devon NHS Foundation TrustUniversity Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation TrustUniversity Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust
West MidlandsBirmingham Women’s and Children’s NHS Foundation TrustHerefordshire and Worcestershire Health and Care NHS TrustNHS Birmingham and Solihull ICB (BSol ICB)The Royal Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Foundation TrustUniversity Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation TrustWorcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust
Yorkshire & HumberBradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation TrustLeeds Community Healthcare NHS TrustThe Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust
National employersHealth Education EnglandNHS England
Northern IrelandBelfast Health and Social Care TrustNorthern Health and Social Care TrustWestern Health and Social Care TrustSouthern Health and Social Care TrustSouth Eastern Health and Social Care TrustNorthern Ireland Practice and Education CouncilBusiness Services OrganisationRegulation and Quality Improvement AuthorityNorthern Ireland Blood Transfusion ServicePublic Health AgencyNorthern Ireland Ambulance Service
WalesCardiff and Vale University Health BoardPowys Teaching Local Health BoardWelsh Ambulance Services NHS Trust HeadquartersHywel Dda University Health BoardSwansea Bay University Health BoardCwm Taf Morgannwg University Health BoardBetsi Cadwaladr University Local Health BoardVelindre NHS TrustPublic Health WalesHealth Education and Improvement Wales Health AuthorityNHS Wales Shared Services PartnershipDigital Health and Care Wales