Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Healthcare staff on walkout over wages
9,000 nurses set to strike today
THOUSANDS of nurses and other healthcare workers will begin strike action today – as a row over pay and conditions reaches boiling point.
Around 9,000 nurses will walk out for 12 hours, while ambulance staff will leave their posts for 24 hours – from 7am today to 7am tomorrow.
Routine medical appointments will be cancelled, minor injury units closed and there will be delays to some less urgent ambulance responses, health managers said.
Nurses in Northern Ireland are paid up to £4,677 less than their counterparts in England and Wales and “pay parity” has been a driving force in ongoing industrial action.
Around half are considering leaving the profession because of pressure caused by under-staffing, their union the RCN said.
Northern Ireland Ambulance Service medical director Dr Nigel Ruddell insisted there has been “good engagement” with unions ahead of the strike to ensure critical and urgent calls are responded to.
However, he urged the public to “think carefully” about ringing 999 and with less urgent calls “the public might have to wait a bit longer”.
Asked if the NIAS would declare a “major incident” as happened during strike action in 2015, Dr Ruddell insisted that would not be the case “in relation to industrial action”.
He added NIAS has “been assured” that if there is a major incident staff will respond accordingly. A statement issued by the Health and Social Care Board said: “We sincerely apologise in advance for the distress this action will cause to everyone impacted especially our patients, service users and family members.”
The South Tyrone Hospital Minor Injury Unit, Mid Ulster MIU, Bangor MIU and Ards MIU will all be closed. All emergency departments will remain open as normal.
The health authorities are unable to break the deadlock since no ministers are in place to take decisions at the devolved parliament at Stormont. Civil servants running public services said they cannot find enough extra cash to satisfy the Royal College of Nursing union –while just under 2,800 posts are unfilled.
Spending on temporary agency staff to fill gaps has doubled. A newly-qualified registered nurse in Northern Ireland earns £1,875 less than in Scotland and £1,419 less than in England and Wales. For a specialist nurse, the difference is up to £4,677, the RCN said.
Secretary of State Julian Smith has said finding a solution will be among his top priorities during talks he has called with the political parties.
Industrial action is also planned today by the Unison, Unite and Nipsa trade unions which cover ambulance paramedics and jobs like cleaning, portering, catering and administration. Services like cancer care will be exempt.