Strikes will see 15,000 operations cancelled
Patients to suffer prolonged wait for surgery as NHS nurses stage walkout
UP TO 15,000 operations are set to be cancelled next week because of the first national strike by nurses, The Daily Telegraph can disclose.
NHS trusts have been told to ensure affected patients are informed by Tuesday, with later cancellations occurring only in exceptional circumstances.
Hospitals have been told to reschedule appointments as soon as possible.
However, the 7.2 million people on waiting lists in England include more than 400,000 people who have already waited a year.
Analysis by this newspaper suggests that up to 15,000 operations, such as hip and knee replacements, cataract surgery, hernia repairs and cardiac procedures, could be postponed.
More than 100,000 outpatient appointments could also be affected.
With up to 100,000 nurses expected to take part in strikes at 76 hospitals and NHS organisations, health chiefs fear unprecedented pressures on emergency services.
Yesterday, Rishi Sunak, the Prime Minister, confirmed that the Army would be drafted in to support services during the public sector strikes, despite anger from senior military figures. But police chiefs have refused to provide officers to drive ambulances, saying they cannot respond to “ever-growing demands”.
There will be four days of rail strikes next week, as well as the industrial action by nurses. As Christmas approaches, ambulance services will begin strikes, while Border Force is planning eight days of action that will disrupt flights over the festive period.
The public will be warned that on Thursday, when nurses strike, ambulances may only be sent out in cases of “an immediate risk to life”.
This category of call excludes thousands of potentially deadly emergencies such as heart attacks and strokes, which are classed as urgent but not immediately life-threatening. The warning to the public comes despite the fact the first strike action by ambulance crews is not scheduled until Dec 21.
Health chiefs fear that even though emergency cases are supposed to be protected from strike action, the loss of tens of thousands of nurses from the front line will heap pressure on to A&E units and ambulance services.
The planned strike by members of the Royal College of Nursing follows demands for a 19 per cent pay rise, which Mr Sunak has described as “unreasonable and unaffordable”.
During the nurses’ strike, the public is being urged not to assume their appointment is cancelled, and to go ahead and attend unless they receive instructions about a postponement.
Health officials said patients should still call 999 if they were concerned that a life was at risk. Sub-zero temperatures for much of next week are expected to increase the risks to the vulnerable.
Earlier this week, The Telegraph revealed that ambulances were unlikely to be sent to elderly people who have suffered falls, if strikes by paramedics go ahead. The new NHS advice suggests that even before then, ambulance services will be rationing calls far more tightly, and may only send to the most immediately life-threatening cases.
The public information states: “On days where there is strike action, patients should only call 999 if it is a medical or mental health emergency (when someone is seriously ill or injured and their life is at risk). Ambulances will still be able to respond in these situations, but this may only be where there is an immediate risk to life.”
This newspaper also disclosed concerns from senior military figures unhappy that soldiers could be made to give up Christmas to cover for striking
NHS workers who earn more than them. The Government is set to rely on hundreds of Armed Forces personnel to stand in for Border Force officers at airports during eight days of strikes this month, and potentially to cover for ambulance drivers and firefighters.
But The Telegraph has been told that the military believes it is “not right” for soldiers, who are banned by law from striking, to replace public sector workers over the festive season. Senior Forces figures are understood to have warned ministers that the plan risks weakening the “operational capability” of the military to respond to threats.
Yesterday, the Prime Minister confirmed that the Army would be forced to step in, saying the country owed them “an enormous debt of gratitude”. He also said he is not ruling out extending “tough” new anti-strike laws to prevent walk-outs by emergency service workers such as nurses, and appeared to rule out meeting union demands for pay rises for public sector workers to head off strikes before the end of the year.
Meanwhile, the Health Secretary was accused of “bully-boy” negotiating tactics by the head of the Royal College of Nursing. Pat Cullen, its general secretary, accused Steve Barclay of refusing to negotiate properly because she leads a largely female workforce.
A Department of Health spokesman said the Health and Social Care Secretary has the “utmost respect” for nurses and ministers have had “constructive” talks with unions.