Unions should call off NHS strikes
Although the Government has been reluctant to describe the state of the NHS as a crisis, most people would not hesitate to do so. In particular, the trade unions representing NHS staff are constantly saying it is close to collapse. So it speaks volumes about their commitment to the future of the health service that they will this week stage the biggest series of strikes in its 75-year history. Nurses, ambulance drivers, call handlers and paramedics in England are taking part in a stoppage called by the GMB and Unite unions.
Nurses are striking again tomorrow, though those in emergency and intensive care are expected to work. Some 4,000 physiotherapists will join the action on Thursday, while ambulance staff across five services in England will walk out again on Friday. Given the problems already assailing the NHS, from the treatment backlog affecting seven million patients to overcrowded A&E units, the seemingly never-ending dispute can only inflict further damage.
The unions are demanding direct negotiations with Rishi Sunak and Steve Barclay, the Health Secretary, but while the Government is willing to talk about how to make the NHS work better, it won’t discuss this year’s pay round. That was decided by independent review bodies, whose recommendations were implemented in full.
They reported before the full inflationary impact of the Ukraine war became apparent, but it is unreasonable to expect ministers to unpick their decisions. Would a Labour government seek to negotiate with every health union over pay?
So far, the NHS has managed to get through the strikes but largely because the public, as it did during the Covid lockdowns, has held back from using the services. This is bound to cause more missed diagnoses, a lengthier backlog and an even greater number of excess deaths. Ministers say if the unions are prepared to talk about improving the failing systems in the NHS then there can be greater flexibility in the next pay round starting in April. Woeful productivity is the reason why just pumping in more and more money fails to make things any better, as General Sir Gordon Messenger observes in this newspaper today.
Inflation is starting to decline and is expected to be close to 4 per cent later this year, while energy prices are set to fall, meaning that there is an opportunity for health staff to make up some of their shortfall. But if they really care about the future of the NHS they need to call off their action.