This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/dec/19/nurse-staffing-levels-northern-ireland-strike-patients

The article has changed 2 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 0 Version 1
As nurses in Northern Ireland, leaving our posts was heartbreaking. But we are desperate Nurses in Northern Ireland found it heartbreaking to strike. But things are desperate
(about 1 hour later)
We went on strike because staffing levels are at crisis point, says Donna Kinnair, chief executive of the Royal College of NursingWe went on strike because staffing levels are at crisis point, says Donna Kinnair, chief executive of the Royal College of Nursing
As a nurse of over 30 years’ standing, I never imagined I would one day be touring picket lines set up by fellow nurses outside hospitals and health centres.As a nurse of over 30 years’ standing, I never imagined I would one day be touring picket lines set up by fellow nurses outside hospitals and health centres.
But that is exactly how I spent yesterday. The first ever strike by members of the Royal College of Nursing in our 103-year history took place for 12 hours throughout Northern Ireland.But that is exactly how I spent yesterday. The first ever strike by members of the Royal College of Nursing in our 103-year history took place for 12 hours throughout Northern Ireland.
I joined members gathered outside Belfast city hospital in freezing temperatures early yesterday morning, and then in the pouring rain at the Royal Victoria hospital and several others. There were pickets across 21 different sites in Northern Ireland. Solidarity between nurses, paramedics and other healthcare workers was on full display as they shared flasks of tea. Roisin, one of the nurses on a picket line, tweeted, “After almost 30 years in nursing, I have seen some of the most heartbreaking things you could imagine and cried many tears. I can honestly say that today is the saddest day of my career.”I joined members gathered outside Belfast city hospital in freezing temperatures early yesterday morning, and then in the pouring rain at the Royal Victoria hospital and several others. There were pickets across 21 different sites in Northern Ireland. Solidarity between nurses, paramedics and other healthcare workers was on full display as they shared flasks of tea. Roisin, one of the nurses on a picket line, tweeted, “After almost 30 years in nursing, I have seen some of the most heartbreaking things you could imagine and cried many tears. I can honestly say that today is the saddest day of my career.”
Almost every nurse I spoke to told me they didn’t want to take this action, but felt it was the only option left that could make employers, politicians and the government sit up and take notice.Almost every nurse I spoke to told me they didn’t want to take this action, but felt it was the only option left that could make employers, politicians and the government sit up and take notice.
Readers in the rest of the UK may be asking what on earth has driven nursing staff in Northern Ireland to take this unprecedented step. Patients and the public in Northern Ireland sadly know only too well. There simply aren’t enough nurses to provide safe patient care – almost 3,000 nursing posts, around 13% of the total, are vacant. This compares to 11% in England.Readers in the rest of the UK may be asking what on earth has driven nursing staff in Northern Ireland to take this unprecedented step. Patients and the public in Northern Ireland sadly know only too well. There simply aren’t enough nurses to provide safe patient care – almost 3,000 nursing posts, around 13% of the total, are vacant. This compares to 11% in England.
I met a cancer nurse called Edel yesterday who told me she was shocked by the unsafe staffing levels in oncology and fearful for her patients. Add in the fact that one in five people in Northern Ireland is on a waiting list, with more than 120,000 waiting over a year for treatment, and you can see why an independent health thinktank recently posed the question in a report about health services in Northern Ireland, “How bad does it have to get before urgent action is taken?”I met a cancer nurse called Edel yesterday who told me she was shocked by the unsafe staffing levels in oncology and fearful for her patients. Add in the fact that one in five people in Northern Ireland is on a waiting list, with more than 120,000 waiting over a year for treatment, and you can see why an independent health thinktank recently posed the question in a report about health services in Northern Ireland, “How bad does it have to get before urgent action is taken?”
Our strike is also over pay. A founding principle of the NHS when it was set up in 1948 was that pay rates for staff should be the same throughout the UK, so that wealthy areas such as London couldn’t offer extra money to poach more staff. Yet salaries of nurses in Northern Ireland have been allowed to fall far behind those of colleagues in the rest of the UK. A newly qualified band 5 staff nurse there, for example, is now paid £1,419 less than their counterpart in England and Wales, and £1,875 less than in Scotland, each year. An experienced specialist nurse earns £1,156 less than one in England and Wales, and £2,097 less than in Scotland, each year. This disparity cannot be allowed to continue if Northern Ireland is to try and close the gap on the number of nursing vacancies.Our strike is also over pay. A founding principle of the NHS when it was set up in 1948 was that pay rates for staff should be the same throughout the UK, so that wealthy areas such as London couldn’t offer extra money to poach more staff. Yet salaries of nurses in Northern Ireland have been allowed to fall far behind those of colleagues in the rest of the UK. A newly qualified band 5 staff nurse there, for example, is now paid £1,419 less than their counterpart in England and Wales, and £1,875 less than in Scotland, each year. An experienced specialist nurse earns £1,156 less than one in England and Wales, and £2,097 less than in Scotland, each year. This disparity cannot be allowed to continue if Northern Ireland is to try and close the gap on the number of nursing vacancies.
None of this is happening in a vacuum. The collapse of Stormont in January 2017 has meant that Northern Ireland hasn’t had a functioning government for almost three years. Instead, the Department of Health is being run by civil servants. Patients and nurses need power-sharing to be restored urgently, and for health ministers to be appointed again to take charge of this crisis.None of this is happening in a vacuum. The collapse of Stormont in January 2017 has meant that Northern Ireland hasn’t had a functioning government for almost three years. Instead, the Department of Health is being run by civil servants. Patients and nurses need power-sharing to be restored urgently, and for health ministers to be appointed again to take charge of this crisis.
I witnessed huge support for nurses from the public. They know staff wouldn’t be taking this action unless they’d been pushed to the limit. Yes, some patients will have had appointments cancelled because of the strike – but nurses working in safety-critical services such as chemotherapy and intensive care did continue to provide cover yesterday. Patients and the RCN are grateful to them.I witnessed huge support for nurses from the public. They know staff wouldn’t be taking this action unless they’d been pushed to the limit. Yes, some patients will have had appointments cancelled because of the strike – but nurses working in safety-critical services such as chemotherapy and intensive care did continue to provide cover yesterday. Patients and the RCN are grateful to them.
It’s a truism to say that a strike is only ever a last resort. None of our members voted for it lightly. But I hope this first ever industrial action by RCN nurses will provide the shock politicians and health and social care management need to take action.It’s a truism to say that a strike is only ever a last resort. None of our members voted for it lightly. But I hope this first ever industrial action by RCN nurses will provide the shock politicians and health and social care management need to take action.
• Donna Kinnair is chief executive and general secretary of the Royal College of Nursing• Donna Kinnair is chief executive and general secretary of the Royal College of Nursing