Ministers are considering a new offer from health workers to avoid NHS strikes next week.
Health Secretary Steve Barclay will hold another round of talks with union leaders in the coming days ahead of planned nurses’ strikes.
Whitehall sources said ministers were working on options to resolve the strikes, including a one-off payment to reflect pressure on the cost of living.
A source said it was recognized that union leaders “need to get something for this year” before considering calling off the current wave of union action.
However, discussions about what level of compensation can be offered and how it will be financed are still at an early stage.
Whitehall sources said ministers were working on options to resolve the strikes, including a one-off payment to reflect pressure on the cost of living. Pictured: Kate Bell, newly appointed assistant general secretary of the Trades Union Congress, delivers a speech in solidarity with the striking aid workers, Waterloo, London, 11 January 2023
Health Secretary Steve Barclay will hold another round of talks with union leaders in the coming days ahead of the nurses’ planned strike on 10 January 2023
No formal proposal has been submitted to the Treasury and a government source said there were no plans “at the moment” to provide additional funding, meaning ministers would have to ensure efficiency to pay for it.
There are also concerns that any payment to resolve the health dispute would set a precedent for other sectors hit by labor disputes, including education and transport, and potentially leave taxpayers with a bill worth billions of pounds. The moves come as 25,000 ambulance workers held a second day of strikes yesterday and unions warned they could boycott talks during the next pay round, scheduled for April.
Fourteen unions, representing more than a million healthcare workers, said yesterday they would not submit evidence to the independent NHS pay body for the next pay round while the current disputes remain unresolved.
Unison’s Sara Gorton said: “The Payroll Review Body process does not fit the current context. The NHS workforce crisis is so acute that only swift action on pay can turn things around for both this financial year and next.”
Government sources said the wage review process would continue with or without union dues, but urged them to reconsider. Downing Street said unions originally sought to set up the pay review process. A spokesman said: “It is disappointing that they have taken this step.”
No formal proposal has been submitted to the Treasury Department and a government source said there were “no plans at the moment” to provide additional funds. Pictured: Ambulances on the grounds of Wellington Barracks, London, 11 January 2023
Ambulance chiefs yesterday urged people to only call 999 for life-threatening emergencies and admitted that non-life-threatening cases were “unlikely”. The two striking unions – Unison and GMB – said members would respond to the most life-threatening “category one” calls where someone is not breathing or their heart has stopped.
However, there was no guarantee that callers would receive an answer to lower category calls such as heart attacks, strokes and falls. Soldiers were called in to drive ambulances yesterday as paramedics, drivers, technicians and dispatchers went on strike across England and Wales. Ambulances were photographed on the grounds of Wellington Barracks in central London and the South West Ambulance Service confirmed it would receive “military assistance”.
The same restrictions as during the last strike last month, when military personnel could not provide clinical care, drive through red lights or turn on blue lights. Rishi Sunak said during Prime Minister’s Questions: “What’s shocking is that at the moment people don’t know if they’re going to call 999 if they’re going to get the treatment they need.”
There are also concerns that any payment to settle the health dispute would set a precedent for other sectors facing labor disputes. Pictured: An ambulance worker lights a bonfire, Waterloo, London, 11 January 2023
NHS providers representing health trusts have warned that the NHS will be hit harder by yesterday’s strike than it was last month as more staff, including on-call workers, took action. You have to deal with the “pent up demand” in the coming days.
Saffron Cordery, the interim director of NHS providers, said the NHS had been able to “step up and manage” during industrial action, but it had a “domino effect” on waiting lists and “treated people who needed it”. Fashion’.
Some NHS trusts in London warned yesterday that women giving birth at home may have to go to hospital themselves in an emergency.
Meanwhile, just one in eight people (13 per cent) would trust an ambulance to take them to hospital in an emergency because of the NHS supply crisis, a survey of 1,836 adults for ITV’s Good Morning Britain found brought light.
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Crystal Leahy is an author and health journalist who writes for The Fashion Vibes. With a background in health and wellness, Crystal has a passion for helping people live their best lives through healthy habits and lifestyles.
