Nurses will take part in a third round of industrial action at Harrogate District Hospital this bank holiday weekend.
It’s taking place because members of the Royal College of Nursing union rejected the government’s latest pay offer of a below-inflation 5% rise plus a lump sum of at least £1,655.
The union says any pay rise should be above inflation, which is currently at around 10%.
The strike begins at 8pm tonight and ends at 11.59pm tomorrow.
Nurses argue low pay is leading to an exodus of NHS nurses who are either moving to work overseas or leaving the profession altogether and they say the situation is compromising patient safety.
Throughout winter and spring the government has maintained that the union’s wage demands are unaffordable and talks to avert the strikes have failed.
Greater impact on hospital services
Unlike the two previous RCN strikes at the hospital on Lancaster Park Road this year, the strike will involve nurses working in emergency departments, intensive care, cancer and other wards.
Health secretary Steve Barclay said the move would have a “deeply concerning” impact on patients.
However, the union has committed to providing care for the most urgent clinical situations as part of a legal obligation not to endanger life.
The strike will be shorter than previously planned
Mr Barclay called the strikes unlawful and the government successfully managed to shorten the strike in the High Court yesterday.
This was because the union had six months to take industrial action following a ballot of its members last year and the second day of the strike fell outside of the mandate.
The RCN’s general secretary Pat Cullen said after the ruling:
“The government have won their legal battle today. But what this has led to is they have lost nursing and they’ve lost the public.
“They’ve taken the most trusted profession through the courts, by the least trusted people.”
Mr Barclay said: “I firmly support the right to take industrial action within the law – but the government could not stand by and let plainly unlawful strike action go ahead.
“Both the NHS and my team tried to resolve this without resorting to legal action.”
Emergency services will continue
Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust (HDFT), which runs the hospital, says it has plans in place to “keep disruption to a minimum” on Sunday and Monday despite having fewer healthcare professionals available during the strike.
A HDFT spokesperson pledged that emergency services will continue to operate as normal.
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However, some appointments will be cancelled and rearranged. April’s four-day junior doctors’ strike by members of the British Medical Association led to almost 500 appointments not taking place.
A HDFT spokesperson said:
“During strike action, urgent and emergency treatment will be our priority. We will be working with our nursing staff to deliver safe services, while facilitating and respecting the right of those staff who wish to take legal industrial action.
“Patients should continue to attend appointments as planned unless contacted to reschedule. We will be re-arranging any postponed appointments as a priority. We appreciate this situation is frustrating for patients affected and apologise for any inconvenience caused.
“Nobody should put off seeking urgent or emergency care during the strikes, and key services will continue to operate.”
More strikes are likely
The government’s decision to take the RCN to court in order to shorten the strike has not gone down well with the union.
Nurses will vote in a fresh ballot in May — if successful it could potentially lead to six more months of industrial action by nurses unless a pay deal is agreed.
The RCN’s Pat Cullen said yesterday:
Bank holiday nurses’ strike to impact intensive care and cancer wards in Harrogate“Nursing staff will be angered but not crushed by today’s interim order. It may even make them more determined to vote in next month’s ballot for a further six months of action. Nobody wants strikes until Christmas – we should be in the negotiating room, not the courtroom.”
Nurses at Harrogate District Hospital are set to take part in two days of industrial action over the upcoming May bank holiday.
The strike will take place from 8pm on Sunday, April 30, to 8pm on Tuesday, May 2.
Unlike the two previous Royal College of Nursing (RCN) strikes at the hospital on Lancaster Park Road this year, it will involve nurses working in emergency departments, intensive care, cancer and other wards.
It is taking place because members of the union rejected the government’s latest pay offer of a 5% rise plus a lump sum of at least £1,655.
Nurses on picket lines have said low pay is forcing nurses to leave the profession which is risking patient safety.
Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust has been impacted by a series of national strikes over the last few months.
Last week, junior doctors took part in an unprecedented four days of industrial action over pay and there have been previous strikes by nurses and ambulance workers.
RCN general secretary Pat Cullen wrote to health secretary Steve Barclay on Friday calling on him to make an improved offer to nurses “as soon as possible” in order to avert the strike.
Ms Cullen wrote:
“What has been offered to date is simply not enough. The government needs to increase what has already been offered and we will be highly critical of any move to reduce it.
“Since our talks in February, we have seen the pressures on the NHS continue to increase. The crisis in our health and care services cannot be addressed without significant action that addresses urgent recruitment and retention issues and nursing pay to bring this dispute to a close urgently.”
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A Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust spokesperson said the trust is developing “comprehensive plans” to “keep disruption to a minimum” at Harrogate hospital. They said emergency services will continue to operate as normal.
The spokesperson said:
Shadow minister brands Harrogate hospital’s reliance on agency staff ‘a disgrace’“During strike action, urgent and emergency treatment will be our priority. We will be working with our nursing staff to deliver safe services, while facilitating and respecting the right of those staff who wish to take legal industrial action.
“Patients should continue to attend appointments as planned unless contacted to reschedule. We will be re-arranging any postponed appointments as a priority. We appreciate this situation is frustrating for patients affected and apologise for any inconvenience caused.
“Nobody should put off seeking urgent or emergency care during the strikes, and key services will continue to operate.
“For people who require medical assistance and are considering visiting our Emergency Department, unless it’s a life-threatening or a severe illness or injury, we would ask that they contact NHS 111 first either by calling or going online https://111.nhs.uk/. The NHS will help them right away and if they need urgent care, the NHS can book them in to be seen quickly and safely.
“People with life-threatening or severe illnesses or injuries should continue to dial 999 and anyone who arrives at A&E without calling NHS 111 will still receive medical care, with those needing emergency treatment prioritised.
“While pay is a matter for government and the trade unions, we greatly value our staff and want to see a resolution as soon as possible to ensure we can continue to focus on delivering high quality patient care to all those who need it.”
Shadow minister Alex Sobel has claimed Harrogate District Hospital‘s use of agency staff is a “disgrace” that is harming patient care.
Alex Sobel, Labour MP for Leeds North West and the party’s shadow environment minister, told a Commons debate on the NHS this week a constituent called Marjorie Dunn spent just over seven weeks at the hospital last year.
He added:
“In that time she saw NHS nurses leave the service and she was treated predominantly by agency staff — mistreated, I have to say, by agency staff. It is a disgrace.
“When she was eventually moved to a recovery hub run by Leeds City Council she got excellent treatment there.
“She had broken her pelvis and been told she would never walk again, but it was the council physiotherapist who got her up and walking again. Is it not right that we should be supporting local authorities such as Labour-run Leeds to get such facilities as well as the NHS?”
Wes Streeting, Labour’s shadow health minister, said Mr Sobel was “absolutely right about the impact of the churn of staff on a ward”, adding:
“It can be quite distressing for patients to see the faces and names change every day and to constantly be explaining once again what their experience in the hospital has been, if indeed the staff have time to stop and talk.”
The Stray Ferret asked Harrogate and Knaresborough Conservative MP Andrew Jones if he wished to respond to Mr Sobel’s comments but he did not respond.
‘Workforce challenges’
Asked to respond to Mr Sobel’s comments, a Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust spokesperson said:
“We pride ourselves on providing the best possible standards of care for our patients, wherever that care may be being delivered. On the rare occasions when this has fallen below our expectations or those of our patients, we have procedures in place to identify this and ensure we continuously improve.
“Workforce challenges in the NHS are well documented. As a trust, we monitor recruitment, retention, turnover and staff wellbeing closely and have a bank of the trust’s own nursing staff, who are available to support where we have short- term absence. These staff are familiar with Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust and our standards of care.
“On occasion, we do need to use the services of agencies to support nursing gaps, however we expect all staff working at Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust to provide the same standards of care for our patients, and we will address this if it is found not to be the case.
“Maintaining the health and safety of those people in our care is our main priority and we would like to apologise to anyone who has found that their experience has been below what they would expect. In addition, Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust work collaboratively across health and social care to ensure that care and services are delivered to our population in the right place, by the right professionals, which means there are occasions where this is a multi-agency approach to ensure the care be delivered as close to the person’s own home as possible.”
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Harrogate hospital nurses to strike again next month
Nurses at Harrogate District Hospital will stage another 48-hour walk-out next month.
The Royal College of Nursing has announced further nationwide industrial action in a dispute over pay and conditions.
The strike, which will include nurses at 128 NHS hospitals, will take place from Wednesday, March 1.
Speaking following the announcement, Pat Cullen, chief executive at the RCN, said:
“It is with a heavy heart that I have today asked even more nursing staff to join this dispute.
“These strikes will not just run for longer and involve more people but will leave no area of the NHS unaffected. Patients and nurses alike did not want this to happen.
“By refusing to negotiate with nurses, the Prime Minister is pushing even more people into the strike. He must listen to NHS leaders and not let this go ahead.
“I will do whatever I can to ensure patient safety is protected. At first, we asked thousands to keep working during the strikes but it’s clear that is only prolonging the dispute. This action must not be in vain – the Prime Minister owes them an answer.”
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The move comes as nurses in Harrogate have staged two walkouts since January.
Staff staged the industrial action outside the hospital on Lancaster Park Road.
Meanwhile, on February 6, nurses walked out alongside ambulance workers from Yorkshire Ambulance Service.
Harrogate ambulance striker: ‘Nobody wants to wait three hours to offload patients’Ambulance workers and nurses formed picket lines within metres of each other in Harrogate today as part of the biggest-ever day of NHS strikes in England.
Members of the Royal College of Nursing began two days of industrial action outside Harrogate District Hospital on Lancaster Park Road.
A two-minute walk away, members of the GMB union were huddled around a fire at Harrogate Ambulance Station for a one-day strike due to take place from 6am to midday and from 6pm to midnight.
Unison ambulance workers are due to strike on Friday.
The hospital picket line today
Laura Faulkener, an ambulance practitioner and GMB rep, told the Stray Ferret patients were more likely to get an ambulance today than on non-strike days because of the measures put in place to respond to the most serious incidents.
Asked why the GMB was striking, Ms Faulkner said:
“There’s been a lot of focus on pay but it’s about conditions, above all.
“None of us want to wait seven hours in a corridor with patients while they wait to be seen.”
She said the situation was particularly bad at York Hospital but paramedics could still be left looking after patients in the back of ambulances for three or hour hours at Harrogate District Hospital while they waited to be treated.
Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust said in a statement key services continued to operate during the strike and nobody should be put off seeking urgent or emergency care. It added:
“Patients should continue to attend appointments as planned unless contacted to reschedule.”
RCN staff will be taking part in industrial action today (6 February) and tomorrow (7 February). This will impact our services at HDFT. Unless it’s a life-threatening injury/severe illness contact NHS111 https://t.co/h6tkZbXSie #nhsstrikes https://t.co/sUdV7rONPD
— Harrogate NHS FT (@HarrogateNHSFT) February 6, 2023
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Nurses and ambulance workers in Harrogate district to strike today
Nurses and ambulance workers in the Harrogate district will walk out today as part of an ongoing dispute over pay and conditions.
Picket lines could be organised within yards of each other on Lancaster Park Road in Harrogate, where the hospital and the ambulance station are both located.
The Royal College of Nursing also plans to stage another walkout tomorrow (February 7).
The move comes as the union has called on Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to increase nurses’ pay and NHS funding.
Patricia Marquis, director for England at the RCN, said:
“People are having to wait longer to access services when demand has never been greater.
“Patients are not dying because nurses are striking. Nurses are striking because patients are dying.
“Our members have a mandate to take strike action for another 100 days – and the Prime Minister would do well to see these strikes for what they are: a warning of the need for swift action.
“The Prime Minister is letting down the nation’s health, millions of patients, and ultimately the economy. An ill and untreated population cannot work and contribute to the economic recovery that everybody wants to see.”
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Meanwhile, GMB union members from Yorkshire Ambulance Service will stage another walkout in a dispute over pay and conditions.
Ambulance staff are also set to stage further walkouts on February 10.
In response to the strike action, a spokesman for Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust said:
Why are nurses going on strike in Harrogate?“Comprehensive plans are in place to maintain the safety of patients requiring our services during the Royal College of Nursing’s industrial action.
“We are committed to providing the best possible levels of healthcare in any eventuality, and as ever, during the industrial action our focus has been on maintaining the safety of our patients.
“Whilst it is regrettable that some of our services have been affected by industrial action, we have ensured that essential services have remained available. Whilst we have been operating at reduced staffing levels in a number of areas such as inpatient wards, we worked with the RCN to ensure that we had sufficient nursing staff working to maintain patient safety.
“During the industrial action we have rescheduled appointments where it has been necessary. We have worked with the RCN to ensure that our services have remained safe.
“While pay is a matter for government and the trade unions, we greatly value our staff and respect those who have chosen to take part in industrial action. We want to see a resolution as soon as possible to ensure we can continue to focus on delivering high quality patient care to all those who need it.”
Nurses working at Harrogate District Hospital will take part in industrial action on Wednesday, January 18 and Thursday, January 19 due to a pay and conditions dispute with the government that has rumbled on all winter.
It’s taking place after members of the Royal College of Nursing union who work for Harrogate District NHS Foundation Trust voted to strike last year.
Harrogate is one of 70 trusts in England that will strike as part of the largest organised action in NHS history.
Here is everything you need to know about the nurses strike.
When is the strike?
The strikes will take place from 7.15am to 8.15pm on both days and there will be a picket line outside the hospital on Lancaster Park Road.
Two days of strikes were held in England, Northern Ireland and Wales on December 15 and 20 but Harrogate nurses did not take part.
What services will be affected?
During the December strikes, thousands of appointments across the country were cancelled or postponed. A trust spokesperson said the hospital will contact patients that have appointments on strike days to let them know if they are still going ahead.
All life-preserving treatment must be provided and nurses in intensive and emergency care will be expected to continue working.
Harrogate District Hospital, Lancaster Park Road.
However, routine operations such as hip or knee replacements are likely to be affected.
A trust spokesperson said:
“We are working to ensure there is safe patient care and that emergency services continue to operate during any industrial action, and have plans in place to mitigate the impact of disruption on direct patient care.
“If you have an appointment or operation that is scheduled on a proposed strike day we would kindly ask you to be patient and we will notify you as soon as possible to confirm if your consultation or treatment will be affected.
“The industrial action will see a picket line outside our hospital in Harrogate and we will be working with local RCN representatives to minimise any disruption this may cause for residents in the vicinity and visitors to our hospital.”
Why are nurses striking?
According to the royal college, 25,000 nursing staff around the UK left the Nursing and Midwifery Council register last year. It’s left hospitals with staff shortages which the union feels has compromised patient safety.
The union argues that many people are leaving the profession or deciding to work for private providers due to low pay within the NHS. It has repeatedly called for a pay increase of 5% above inflation.
However, the government says this increase would be unaffordable to tax payers.
Royal College of Nursing general secretary and chief executive, Pat Cullan, said:
“The government had the opportunity to end this dispute before Christmas but instead they have chosen to push nursing staff out into the cold again in January. I do not wish to prolong this dispute but the Prime Minister has left us with no choice.
“The public support has been heart-warming and I am more convinced than ever that this is the right thing to do for patients and the future of the NHS.
“The voice of nursing will not be ignored. Staff shortages and low pay make patient care unsafe – the sooner ministers come to the negotiating table, the sooner this can be resolved. I will not dig in, if they don’t dig in.”
When will the dispute be resolved?
The royal college is yet to reach an agreement with the government over the dispute but talks have been ongoing since December’s strikes.
The government has raised the possibility of a one-off hardship payment to nursing staff but an offer has not been made.
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In an interview with the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg on Sunday, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said:
“The door has always been open to talk about the things that nurses want to talk about.”
A trust spokesperson said:
Nurses at Harrogate hospital set for first strike“While pay is a matter for government and the trade unions, we greatly value our staff and want to see a resolution as soon as possible to ensure we can continue to focus on delivering high quality patient care to all those who need it.
“We understand the importance of good pay and conditions for individuals and their families, as well as wider NHS staff retention and recruitment.”
Nurses at Harrogate District Hospital are set to go on strike for the first time.
Members of the Royal College of Nursing will walk out on Wednesday (January 18) and Thursday (January 19) next week.
The strike, which is the first national walkout by the royal college, is being held after a dispute with government over pay and conditions.
Officials at Harrogate District Hospital said they were working to ensure the walkout causes “minimal disruption” to patient care.
The royal college said the move was part of an escalation of industrial action.
Pat Cullen, RCN general secretary and chief executive, said:
“The government had the opportunity to end this dispute before Christmas but instead they have chosen to push nursing staff out into the cold again in January.
“I do not wish to prolong this dispute, but the Prime Minister has left us with no choice.”
A spokesperson for Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust said:
“While pay is a matter for Government and the trade unions, we greatly value our staff and want to see a resolution as soon as possible to ensure we can continue to focus on delivering high quality patient care to all those who need it.
“We understand the importance of good pay and conditions for individuals and their families, as well as wider NHS staff retention and recruitment.
“We are working to ensure there is minimal disruption to patient care and that emergency services continue to operate as normal should any strike action take place, and have tried and tested plans in place to manage any disruption.
“We are committed to keeping disruption to services to a minimum, and any members of the public that need care should continue to come forward as normal.
“If you have an appointment or operation that is scheduled on a proposed strike day we would kindly ask you to be patient and we will notify you as soon as possible to confirm if your consultation or treatment will be affected.”
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Strikes hit Harrogate district
The walkout are set to become the latest to hit the Harrogate district.
Staff from Yorkshire Ambulance Service staged a 24-hour walkout on Wednesday.
A picket line was formed at Harrogate Ambulance Station on Lancaster Park Road close to the hospital.
It was the second time staff at Yorkshire Ambulance Service have gone on strike in the last month, although they continued to respond to the most serious category one calls.
Meanwhile, the RMT Union staged another strike outside Harrogate Railway Station in the latest wave of walkouts by rail workers last Friday.
Harrogate hospital nurses to go on strike next monthNurses at Harrogate District Hospital and Ripon Community Hospital will go on strike next month as part of a national walkout.
The Royal College of Nursing today announced further industrial action on January 18 and 19.
It comes shortly after nurses walked out at hospitals across England for two days this month in a dispute over pay and conditions.
Locally, staff at Leeds Teaching Hospitals Trust took strike action on December 15 and 20 — but Harrogate did not take part.
This time, however, nurses at Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust will walk out as the RCN looks to escalate industrial action.
Pat Cullen, RCN general secretary and chief executive, said:
“The government had the opportunity to end this dispute before Christmas but instead they have chosen to push nursing staff out into the cold again in January.
“I do not wish to prolong this dispute, but the Prime Minister has left us with no choice.”
The Stray Ferret has approached the trust for a response to the announcement.
However, previously managers at Harrogate hospital pledged to minimise the disruption caused by the walkouts and urged patients to continue to come forward for care.
A Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust spokesperson said:
“While pay is a matter for government and the trade unions, we value our staff and want to see a resolution as soon as possible to ensure we can continue to focus on delivering world class patient care to all those who need it.
“We understand the importance of good pay and conditions for individuals and their families, as well as wider NHS staff retention and recruitment.
“We are working to ensure there is minimal disruption to patient care and that emergency services continue to operate as normal should any strike action take place, and have tried and tested plans in place to manage any disruption.
“We are committed to keeping disruption to services to a minimum, and any members of the public that need care should continue to come forward as normal.
“If you have an appointment or operation that is scheduled on a proposed strike day we would kindly ask you to be patient and we will notify you as soon as possible if strike action at HDFT is confirmed and your treatment will be affected.”
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The walkouts are set to become the latest to hit the Harrogate district.
Rail and postal workers staged action this month, which has affected travel and deliveries over Christmas.
Meanwhile, Yorkshire Ambulance Service set up a picket line on Lancaster Park Road as staff staged a 24 hour strike yesterday.