"How can we train inexperienced nurses in such a complex environment when we are used to fill gaps on a daily basis? It causes huge anxiety and frustration.”
More than 100 staff at Manchester’s Christie NHS Foundation Trust, which runs The Christie Hospital, will strike for 24 hours from 7am tomorrow (March 2) over pay and working conditions - and they are sharing frank testimony about pressures on the frontline.
Members of the Unite union at Christie NHS Foundation Trust, a world-leading specialist cancer treatment hospital in Manchester, include intensive care unit (ICU) nurses, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) clinical scientists and estates staff. The hospital staff turnover rate is 17 per cent and Unite reports that members in all departments say there are staffing shortages, leading to impacts on services and unsustainable workloads.
One member of staff spoke out to say that short staffing has led to NHS-operated scanners in some hospitals being switched off. However, the MEN understands that the Christie currently has two scanners operational at full capacity and a third, described as 'state of the art' being installed.
The strike follows multiple days of industrial action across the NHS, with Royal College of Nursing and ambulance worker strikes hitting hospitals around the country. Junior doctors have also recently voted unanimously to strike, with junior doctors making up some 40 per cent of the workforce.
A staff member, who manages Christie porters, said: “The difficulties attracting staff to work in (the trust’s estates and facilities department) is matched only by the numbers of staff looking to leave the trust for the sake of any other job that offers 50p more per hour.
“This leaves porters and facilities staff undertaking 60-hour weeks to cover the shortages. Ultimately this affects patients, waiting times grow, appointments are postponed and basic services are reduced to an absolute minimum.”
“We already don’t have enough experienced staff who can train brand new nurses," added an ICU nurse. "At the same time, senior nurses like myself often get moved to cover wards that are short staffed. How can we train inexperienced nurses in such a complex environment when we are used to fill gaps on a daily basis? It causes huge anxiety and frustration.”
An MRI clinical scientist, said: “Radiographers at Christie are exhausted. They are being poached by private providers to do easier work for a higher hourly rate on mobile scanners for routine outpatients, which have low rates of complications and require less training and experience.
“Recently this has led to such short staffing that NHS scanners have had to be shut down or staffed by agency workers, often the same radiographers who previously worked on them for the NHS, at a higher cost.”
The Christie has already been hit by staff walkouts over January and February. Unite says that more strikes will be scheduled if the government fails to address poor pay and unsafe staffing across the NHS.
General secretary Sharon Graham said: “NHS workers, all over the country, know that without a proper pay deal staff will leave in ever greater numbers and no one will replace them. This will push patient care, already on the brink, over a proverbial cliff. So, in effect, in every type of healthcare job, workers are striking to save the NHS.
“The only way this dispute will end is if the government puts forward a pay offer that is substantial enough to maintain current staffing levels and attract tens of thousands of new recruits to the service. The longer the government fails to face up to that fact, the greater the crisis in the NHS will be.”
Greater Manchester NHS leaders are warning that disruption to care is likely. Mark Fisher, chief executive of NHS Greater Manchester said: “Staff across the system are continuing to work hard to provide care to patients during days of strike action against a backdrop of already high demand. I would like to thank the public for their support during this challenging time.
"I know that many people have listened to our ask and really helped demand by considering which NHS service to access for medical advice depending on their illness or injury. Using the most appropriate service, helps us treat you faster and helps prioritise urgent care to those who need it most.
“With more strike action planned, the system is again working with partners to put plans in place to mitigate the impact on patients however, some disruption is likely. Ultimately, this is a matter between the government and trade unions, but it is encouraging to hear that some strike action planned for next week has been paused in order for talks to take place and hopefully a resolution can be found.”
Health and Social Care Secretary Steve Barclay said: “Strikes are in nobody’s best interests and only cause further disruption for patients, despite contingency measures in place. It is time unions engaged constructively with the Pay Review Body process for 2023/24 and cancelled strikes so we can move forward and continue tackling the Covid backlog.
“I’ve been clear throughout that I remain keen to keep talking to unions about what is fair and affordable for the coming financial year, as well as wider concerns around conditions and workload so we can make the NHS a better place to work.”
A spokesperson for The Christie said: “We understand that patients may be concerned about the effect of the industrial action tomorrow, but we have mitigation plans in place to reduce the impact on patients. We are planning to maintain services and patients should continue to attend appointments as planned.”
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