The NHS is facing an “incredibly challenging and disrupted” week, a health leader has warned, as nurses suggested strikes could potentially last six months. Saffron Cordery, interim chief executive of NHS Providers, urged the Government and unions to come to an agreement on pay as she said the nurse strike on Tuesday and one by ambulance workers on Wednesday would have an impact on patients.
It comes as Patricia Marquis, the England director for the Royal College of Nursing (RCN), said the union did not want protracted strikes but its mandate covered the next six months. Ms Cordery told BBC Breakfast NHS trust leaders “genuinely understand why staff are choosing to strike, so I think they would urge the Government and the unions to get round the table and discuss pay”.
She added: “Trust leaders across both hospitals and ambulance services will be doing everything that they can to put in place services that keep patients and the public as safe as possible. So it’s really important that people do remember that. And 999 calls that affect life and limb, those real emergencies will be answered.
