London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Sunday, Apr 20, 2025

Nurses' strikes over May bank holiday will present serious challenges, says NHS Providers

Nurses' strikes over May bank holiday will present serious challenges, says NHS Providers

A 48-hour strike by nurses, which will include emergency care, will "present serious risks and challenges", an NHS boss has said.

The Royal College of Nursing has rejected the pay offer for England while Unison workers accepted it.

Sir Julian Hartley, from NHS Providers, which represents NHS workers, said the May bank holiday strike would mark an "unprecedented level of action".

The government said it was "based on a vote from the minority" of nurses.

The award on the table was a 5% pay rise for 2023-24. And there was an extra one-off lump sum of at least £1,655 to top up the past year's salary. But on Friday, the RCN announced its members had rejected the offer by 54% to 46%.

The walkout from 20:00 BST on 30 April to 20:00 on 2 May will involve NHS nurses in emergency departments, intensive care, cancer and other wards.

Nurses have already walked out twice this year on 6 and 7 February and on 18 and 19 January - but on those dates there were exemptions so that nursing cover was maintained in critical areas.

The announcement comes just as the NHS is getting back to normal after a four-day walkout by junior doctors - who are demanding a 35% pay rise - which ended at 07:00 on Saturday.

Sir Julian, chief executive of NHS Providers, said during the strike by junior doctors gaps had been filled by consultants and other staff, but he warned if nurses went ahead with their action this might be more difficult to deal with.

"But with nursing staff, obviously that represent a significant proportion of the workforce, taking action in those areas as well that will present an unprecedented level of action, that we haven't yet seen from nursing stuff and therefore the challenges with that, the organisation and all the work that go into managing and mitigating that will be enormous," he said.

When asked about the prospect of nurses and junior doctors striking on the same day, he added: "They are central, pivotal to the delivery of care across all sectors, hospitals, community services, mental health services.

"So obviously the prospect of both groups being out at the same time would present enormous challenges to the service and that would be really really the most difficult challenge ever faced yet if we had to deal with that scenario."

The RCN's director for England, Patricia Marquis, when asked by BBC Newsnight about coordinated strike action, said it was having conversations with the British Medical Association but not specifically around coordinating strikes.

"That's obviously something that would have to be considered, least because we're all in the same space. We all work in the same places", she said.

"And therefore there may be an issue where our strikes do at some point either coordinate or overlap in someway."

Nick Hulme, chief executive of Colchester and Ipswich Hospitals said recent strike action had been a "massive distraction from the work we should be doing" including reducing waiting times - and urged all parties to find a quick solution.

Speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today programme, Mr Hulme said he would be concerned if the currently separate strike action by nurses and junior doctors was co-ordinated at any stage.

"It just fills me with a lot of anxiety and it's almost something I can't comprehend," he said.

"Being able to run services safely without those two clinal groups of staff I think would be very, very difficult indeed and would increase the risks to patients."

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt urged members of the GMB and Unite unions - which represent smaller numbers of NHS staff - to join Unison in accepting the government's offer because it would be "best for patients and best for staff".

The British Medical Association, which represents junior doctors, said it was "not ruling in or out" of co-ordinated action with other unions - such as nurses' unions.

Dr Vivek Trivedi, the co-chairman of the BMA junior doctors committee, said that if the government refused to negotiate "we are prepared to strike again", adding: "We will consider all options available to us."


Clint Cooper who is a nurse at Scarborough Hospital said he believed in the principles of what his colleagues were doing, but he decided to vote against strike action in the RCN ballot.

"Last week I had two patients who were very poorly and I wonder if I hadn't been there and escalated it, would they still be alive if I had walked out and that's my conscience talking to me," he said.

Meanwhile, fellow RCN member Diane Cawood voted to reject the government's latest pay offer, describing the staffing situation as "dire" and inpatient care as "dangerous" at the moment.

The mental health nurse, whose NHS trust did not meet the threshold to strike, said she enjoyed her work but "the day may come when I can't afford to stay in this job".

Nurse Clint Cooper said it was not just about pay but"about the future of the NHS"


A Unison member who has worked as a nurse for 30 years and voted to accept the government's pay offer said the pressure on staff was "unsustainable" but pay was not the fundamental issue.

The specialist nurse, who wishes to remain anonymous, said that instead retention and recruitment "presents the greatest challenge to the profession".

Pat Cullen, RCN general secretary and chief executive, said that until there was a significantly improved offer, RCN nurses would be forced to go back to the picket line.

She said the government "needs to increase what has already been offered and we will be highly critical of any move to reduce it".

The Unison union, which represents some nurses and ambulance crews, voted overwhelmingly in favour of the government's pay offer.

Sara Gorton from Unison said health workers would have wanted more "but this was the best that could be achieved through negotiation".

Members have "opted for the certainty of getting the extra cash in their pockets soon", she added.

Hundreds of thousands of NHS staff from other unions are still voting on the same pay deal over the next two weeks.

In Scotland, union members have accepted an offer worth an average 6.5% for 2023-24. Health unions in Wales and Northern Ireland are still in negotiations with their governments over pay

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
This is Vienna, Austria in 2025.
Boeing Jet Returns to US from China Amid Tariff War
Canadian Federal Election: Candidates' Positions on US-Canada Relations and Donald Trump
Resentencing Hearing for Menendez Brothers Who Killed Their Parents Delayed Amid Legal Disputes
Australian Woman Gives Birth To Stranger's Baby In IVF Mix-up
US Sets Deadline for Russia-Ukraine Peace Deal Brokerage
Italy Introduces 'Sex Rooms' in Prisons for Inmates
California Launches Legal Challenge Against Trump Administration's Tariffs
"Groundless": China Dismisses Zelensky's Claims It's Supplying Arms To Russia
UK Psytrance Festival Cancelled Amid Local Protests Over Noise Concerns
French Far-Right Writer Renaud Camus Denied Entry to UK
UK Police Force Updates Search Policy for Trans Individuals in Custody
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni Meets with Donald Trump to Discuss EU-US Trade Tensions
Canada's Federal Party Leaders Engage in Final Debate Ahead of General Election
Ukraine and US Sign Outline of Minerals Deal
Fast Food Chain Refuses to Apologize for Online Comment About Katy Perry's Space Voyage
New York Attorney General Letitia James Faces Criminal Referral for Alleged Mortgage Fraud
Mark Cuban admits support for Trump executive order: ‘Gotta be honest’
US Senator Meets with Deported Immigrant in El Salvador Amid Custody Dispute
U.S. State Department Raises El Salvador’s Safety Ranking, Making It Safer Than France and Other European Nations
UK Government Assumes Control of British Steel's Scunthorpe Plant Amid Shutdown Threat
UK MP Wera Hobhouse Denied Entry to Hong Kong During Family Visit
Bangladesh Issues Arrest Warrant for UK MP Tulip Siddiq
China Urges United States to Cancel Tariffs Amid Escalating Trade Tensions
The Empire’s USD Pyramid Scheme Is Working Brilliantly—So Why ‘Fix’ It?
China Raises Tariffs on U.S. Goods to 125% Amid Escalating Trade Dispute
Elon Musk Reports $150 Billion in Projected Government Savings Amid Fraud Investigations
U.S. and Panama Finalize Defense Agreements Amid Canal Access and Chinese Influence Concerns
China Stands Firm Amidst Trade Disputes with the US: A Factual Analysis
U.S. Tariff Escalation Sparks Global Trade Tensions
Helicopter crashes in NYC with four people on board.
Australia Dismisses China's Suggestion to Collaborate Against US Tariffs
EU Postpones Response to US Tariffs
The Trump Administration is contemplating removing Chinese companies from U.S. stock exchanges.
Violent Incidents and Public Safety Concerns Escalate in London and County Durham
UK MP Arrested on Suspicion of Rape and Child Sex Offences
UK Gears Up to Respond to US Tariffs with Industrial Strategies and Trade Initiatives
‘Rocky’ star Dolph Lundgren and his wife Emma Krokdal bask in the Miami sunshine following the actor’s lengthy health struggles.
Spain Encounters Countrywide Protests as Housing Crisis Intensifies
Alisha Lehmann's Modeling Campaign and Public Controversy Stir Debate Ahead of UEFA Women's Euro
U.S. Firms with Major International Revenue Exposure in Light of New Tariffs
President Trump Calls on the Federal Reserve to Reduce Interest Rates in Light of New Tariffs
President Trump Prolongs TikTok Sale Deadline by 75 Days
Global Markets Dive Amid Rising U.S.-China Trade Conflicts
British comedian Russell Brand faces charges of rape and several sexual assaults.
Kanye West Reveals in a New Song That His Wife Bianca Censori Has Departed from Him
Actor Jean-Claude Van Damme Accused of Having Sex with Human Trafficking Victims
Tom Cruise Pays Tribute to Val Kilmer at CinemaCon
Europe Pursues Digital Autonomy Amidst Transatlantic Strains
OpenAI Lands Unprecedented $40 Billion Funding.
×