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NHS leaders warn nurses’ strikes will put A&E in ‘precarious’ position

Nurses are due to strike this weekend - Paul Grover for The Telegraph
Nurses are due to strike this weekend - Paul Grover for The Telegraph

Nurses’ strikes this weekend will “almost certainly” put patients at risk, with A&E services left in a “precarious” state, NHS leaders say.

The warning – the strongest yet about the dangers of the walkouts – comes ahead of a High Court hearing on Thursday as Steve Barclay, the Health Secretary, attempts to stop part of the strikes.

The case follows concerns from NHS Employers that the mandate for nurses to strike expires at the end of May 1, meaning walkouts on May 2 are illegal.

The strikes at 125 hospitals and health systems are the most extreme in the history of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN), without exemptions for A&E units, urgent cancer services and critical care units.

The NHS Confederation has said it fears it will not be able to guarantee safe care for patients unless the RCN agrees exemptions to allow some nurses to work. Previous walkouts by nursing staff saw exemptions put in place to protect services such as A&E.

But the current plan – drawn up after RCN members rejected a pay offer of five per cent, which Pat Cullen, their leader, had backed – means all its members in England, including registered nurses, midwives, students and nursing support workers, will be asked to strike without even “life and limb” cover provided.

The NHS Confederation urged the RCN to reinstate the protections offered in previous strikes, saying the “significant escalation” in the strikes could compromise patient safety.

“Bank Holidays are already a busy time for urgent and emergency services and so the absence of nurses to fill vital shifts will almost certainly place patients at risk,” it warned.

More than half a million operations and appointments have already been postponed as a result of recent health strikes.

Matthew Taylor, the chief executive of the NHS Confederation, said: “While NHS leaders understand why the RCN is intensifying its stance on industrial action, they fear the absence of any exemptions to its planned strikes will put patient care in a precarious position. This is particularly the case for patients who will need emergency and intensive care.

“NHS leaders are worried that this action could lead to hospital wards becoming overwhelmed during the strike days and could even put some people off from seeking the care they need. We are calling on the RCN to reinstate these vital derogations without delay.”

An RCN spokesman said: “Nursing staff don’t want to go on strike, but the NHS and Government have had two weeks to plan for this weekend’s strike. Employers are responsible for maintaining safe staffing levels, and we’d expect them to cancel non-urgent clinical work and elective procedures due to take place over the strike period.

“We know this is a difficult task, and there are exceptional circumstances where we would call a strike off in any hospital. But we must remember employers already make difficult staffing arrangements work on most days.”

It comes as radiographers rejected the Government’s pay offer and will now be balloted for strike action. The Society of Radiographers in England said it had the highest-ever turnout in an indicative ballot on pay and 80 per cent of members voted to reject the offer.

Meanwhile, Labour said ministers were “happy to see hundreds of thousands of operations cancelled” so they could blame junior doctors for NHS waiting lists not falling. Wes Streeting, the shadow health secretary, urged ministers to meet the striking junior doctors.