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For the primary time its 106-year historical past, the Royal College of Nursing (RCN), the UK’s largest nursing union, has voted to take strike motion. Nurses within the UK have been on strike earlier than and achieved change, however the scale of this strike is extraordinary.
This dispute, like many types of industrial motion, centres on pay. The salaries of registered nurses and nursing assist employees have fallen in actual phrases by virtually 20% up to now ten years. But this dispute is about extra than simply pay.
The nursing workforce within the UK is below excessive strain. Over the previous few years, the UK has seen a lack of skilled nurses and a inhabitants with an elevated want for nursing. People reside longer with extra a number of situations and frailty. This has meant workloads have elevated and have now change into unsustainable. Nurses are compromising on affected person care and affected person security, and so they discover that insupportable.
Nurses are leaving the nursing register at a quicker fee than ever earlier than and the English well being service has over 40,000 vacancies unfilled. To add extra employees to the nursing workforce, employers and policymakers have chosen to tackle increasingly individuals with out registered nurse {qualifications} to make up the numbers for the least amount of cash. This group has many various job titles however is principally a assist workforce.
Although the assist workforce is a priceless addition, it has change into clear that lately this workforce is getting used to substitute for registered nurses. This isn’t solely exploitative, nevertheless it additionally means registered nurses are put below extra strain to oversee their work. Although the assist employees ship care, the registered nurse remains to be accountable. The proof reveals that it’s registered nurses that make a distinction to affected person outcomes, similar to survival – including extra assist employees doesn’t have the identical impact.
Unlike many different industrial disputes, the media and authorities ministers are using ethical arguments across the nurses’ strike. These arguments vary from questioning the morals of nurses who strike to asking if nurses are deserving of a pay rise. Moral arguments are irrelevant however most likely primarily based on the truth that nursing is a majority feminine career that has relied on describing its price by way of its advantage reasonably than its experience. Striking doesn’t slot in with the picture of girls who serve the wants of others.
Nursing is a aggressive labour market, its employees are extremely expert and in brief provide globally. This means nurses can select different employment each within the UK (within the personal sector) and overseas.
As a workforce and affected person security researcher, I’ve seen solely too clearly how the proof for secure ranges of staffing has not been recognised by governments and policymakers. In Scotland and Wales, there may be now “secure staffing” laws, however this is applicable solely to hospitals in these international locations. The proof for secure staffing and modern workforce planning stays robustly ignored.
More costly in the long term
Poor staffing means poor care – and poor care prices taxpayers extra. There has been a rise in the price of medical negligence in England which reached file ranges in 2022 and outstrips the price of any pay award. Add to this the price of short-term employees of round £6 billion and the return of funding again into the UK financial system (nurses are additionally taxpayers and shoppers) rising nursing pay doesn’t seem to be a nasty choice.
I assist the nurses’ strike if it means their work turns into extra valued and hospitals and group providers retain skilled nurses. As a taxpayer, a carer and doubtlessly a affected person, I can’t afford to not.
Alison Leary is a Fellow and member of the RCN
