Union warns twice the number of nurses could strike in February if no progress in negotiations
14 January 2023, 22:10 | Updated: 15 January 2023, 00:02
Twice the number of nurses could be asked to walkout in early February if progress isn't made in negotiations soon, union leaders have warned.
As unions look to apply further pressure on the government, the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) cautioned ministers that the next wave of industrial action would see all eligible members in England striking for the first time.
The government has introduced a new law allowing it to set minimum levels of service on strike days, which it aims to pass by autumn.
RCN general secretary Pat Cullen said Rishi Sunak's position in the deadlocked negotiations is "baffling, reckless and politically ill-considered".
She said: "The Prime Minister gave nursing staff a little optimism that he was beginning to move, but seven days later he appears entirely uninterested in finding a way to stop this.
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"The public supports nurses because of just how much nurses give to the public.
"Rishi Sunak's intransigence is baffling, reckless and politically ill-considered.
"Nursing staff just wanted to be valued and recognised.
"Without, they will keep leaving in record numbers with consequences for patients that Robert Francis documented in painful detail.
"The nurse shortage costs lives - Sunak cannot put a price on a safe NHS."
Nursing staff from over 70 NHS trusts in England are set to stage industrial action on Wednesday and Thursday.
The next walkout is likely to be on February 6, the RCN has said, to coincide with the 10th anniversary of the Robert Francis inquiry into Mid Staffordshire NHS Trust and the impact of nursing staff shortages on patient mortality.
Mr Francis and Patient Association CEO Rachel Power, described the current stress on the NHS and excess death levels as "Mid Staffs playing out on a national level, if not worse" in a letter to Health Secretary Steve Barclay last week.
Nurses in Wales are also expected to walk off the job in February after a month without strikes.
The RCN isn't planning in Northern Ireland, where there is no executive in place, or in Scotland, where action is still on hold as talks continue.
