The Health Secretary is "holding the country to ransom" as the UK is hit by widespread NHS strikes, a union boss has warned. Unite leader Sharon Graham said Steve Barclay would get a “rude awakening” if he refused to negotiate on pay as she insisted the unions would not “blink first” to break the deadlock.
Mr Barclay has said his top priority is keeping patients safe as the NHS braces for major disruption in the run-up to Christmas, with nurses and ambulance crews set to walk out on consecutive days this week. He put the onus on unions to ensure they “meet their obligations” for “sufficient” emergency cover so that people in crisis get the care they need.
But Ms Graham, whose union is co-ordinating the ambulance strikes with Unison and GMB, said he would “have to carry the can if patients suffer”. “It’s Steve Barclay who is holding the country to ransom,” she told the Mirror.
