Would you support a nurses strike?

[VirtueClapper83]

If there’s any truth (little probably) in the headlines, 40000 nurses left the profession last year for better paid jobs/retirement. There can’t be any substantially significant net gain to the profession. Would you support strike action as we’re about to be balloted for it?

I'm a nurse. I work in unscheduled care so we can't strike but I absolutely support all my colleagues in their right to strike. I would certainly work to rule.

People need to understand that patient safety is already compromised by shite staffing. in my trust absolutely loads of experienced nurses have retired since the pandemic and lots of others thinking about leaving. I'm currently taking steps to retrain myself.

Why not? Seems like everyone in striving these days. I don’t know what it will take for our leaders to change though.

@caringcarer but people are going to die anyway (and I'm probably one of them). Nurses and any other hcp has the right, morally to withdraw their labour. If they believe that the service they work for is no longer fit for purpose, they are morally obliged to either resign or strike, clearly. Any other decision would be illogical.

if it did kill me, i would know who was to blame. It wouldn't be the striking or resigning hcp, it would be this government who have treated them so shabbily.

Yes but can we remember there are health professionals other than nurses and Drs please.

Most definitely! Our local trust have this week announced that they are offering £2 hot meals to staff in order to support with the rise in the cost of living....what does that tell you?

And I assume they all have their own unions to run ballots on strike actions.
A quick google just told me that it's the Royal College of Nursing who are balloting members- almost all of who will be registered nurses, which is the focus of this thread.

Yes I would support you 100%. Social care should strike to specially care assistants and support workers for the terrible pay, and working conditions

100%

I work in an nhs admin role but had to work in the clinical areas during covid.

Nurses are run ragged, the wards are notoriously short staffed and they are hugely underpaid.

They are leaving quicker than they can be replaced, it's a very difficult situation.

No.

Because patients will pay the price. Presumably operations will need cancelling. Ones that people have waited months for. People in pain, frightened get fucked over. Strikes always hurt the innocent.

I'm not saying that the situation nurses are in isn't dire. I know full well that it is. But I just think striking hurts people who really need help so I don't support it.

No. I am a nurse and would not feel comfortable going on strike. I don't work on a ward, so I'm guessing if it ever came to it then I would be pulled back on to the wards to help cover a strike.

Plus selfishly the idea of trying to catch up on a day or more of lost work is enough to make me want to have a stress cry. The IT system went down for a few hours the other week and that was bad enough.

I don't think any of my nursing friends would actually go on strike. Taking their full breaks and leaving on time maybe, but not a total strike. People would die.

This isn't a pop but I've always considered people who give more than is contracted to be part of the problem. I appreciate there's an emotional aspect to nursing and healthcare but still. The large scale exceeding of hours is a huge problem and needs to stop. Management will always take advantage and use this to keep resource costs down. All this does is fatigue, demoralise staff and result in poorer quality deliverables.

Working to rule gets my support 100%. I definitely don't support strikes.

But dont you see this is part of the reason why the nurses are threatening to strik?. To highlight that they aren't prepared to accept the shitty service we are forced to provide.
I have worked in the NHS for 32 years and am convinced that more patients will die as a result of not striking.
Our unit is always understaffed, our hospital is always on red status as it is operating at over capacity. There are no staff.
One of my DC is training to be a nurse and out of 200 students starting the course, only 64 are due to graduate.

Yes absolutely!
all these folk saying people would die are talking rubbish. The strikes are strategic, areas like ICU would be staffed, the unions target certain areas to ensure no patients would come to harm.

It is difficult. It is not like them striking will cause inconvenience. nurses striking could cost lives.

@Lunar270

It can be difficult to take your full break if the emergency buzzer goes off. Also difficult to walk off the ward at 7.30pm on the dot, if the second night nurse hasn't turned up and there are controlled drugs or IV antibiotics that need to be second checked, or Ethel has just had a fall, or developed sepsis, or stopped breathing. I never left on time when I worked on a ward, and still ended up handing over loads of unfinished jobs and went home feeling like I'd done a crap job. I felt slightly better if I stayed late and made sure the crucial things were done. Otherwise I couldn't sleep for fear of missing something. I used to get to work 30 minutes early to check all the 6am IVs had been done, and would usually leave an hour late. But I guess it also burnt me out to a crisp which I why I left ward work.

To achieve what? Longer queues for patients? Which puts more pressure on nurses. They can't train enough nurses to fill the vacancies. How would striking help? Refuse jobs that cause problems for the NHS like statistics etc, but not refuse basic care for patients. How does that tie in with the reason for going into nursing in the first place?

Everything has a knock on effect though.

It's not just ICU that needs to keep ticking along, it's medical outpatients, surgical outpatients, medical wards, surgical wards, dialysis units, theatre, theatre recovery, cath lab, endoscopy, chemotherapy units, radiotherapy units, discharge lounge etc.

Most of which are all still dealing with the backlog from having to redeploy staff to the wards over covid.

Absolutely. If it jeopardises patient care short term that is 100% on the government. The aim would be to safeguard patient care long term. I support strikes from all sectors.

Nurse here and very torn which way to vote. I really don’t want to put my patients at risk and also the nature of my role means no one else can cover so apart from the risk for my very sick patients on the day I’m not there, the next day will be double the work load and double the stress. However, our pay rises have been below inflation for many years, we work through breaks and over our hours for nothing, we are shattered and demoralised, short staffed, covering the workload of 2, 3 sometimes 4 ! We want to be heard. We are expected to not just have degrees but also an MSc now if we want to progress in our career but our pay does not match others with a Masters qualification. We have to study in our time and pay for the pleasure. We are often doing the job of a Dr but still viewed as a handmaiden by many. I know other professions have it hard and it’s not a race to the bottom but I for the first time in 30 years of nursing feel it’s time to strike and be heard. I am grateful for the supportive comments on here and have been supporting other people striking too. It will be a sad day if nurses are forced to strike, we were always viewed as the last people who would vote to strike but maybe if we do our government might listen not just to us but to all the striking professions.

Then unfortunately the government will keep on taking you for granted, treat you like doormats and the NHS will most likely keep gradually crumbling until they think they can get away with selling it all to American healthcare companies.

until they think they can get away with selling it all to American healthcare companies.

🙄 What a load of codswallop.

Thanks. I totally get that and understand the predicament but that's ultimately a management issue to ensure your shifts are properly resourced. The fact that you were doing what you describe is unacceptable as it burnt you out.

Working to rule is possible. They just prey on your emotions and diligence. You obviously handed over to someone as you weren't working 24/7. That just needed to happen sooner or perhaps not at all. I appreciate that sounds unworkable but that's kind of the point. Management should react to this but have been allowed to get away with it for so long they're not bothered.

Unfortunately I don't think nurses going on strike would change any of what you have suggested.

I am just focused on fulfilling my own job role tbh, rather than thinking about how the NHS is crumbling from the inside. Not my circus, not my monkeys.

In general yes, I’d support a nurse’s strike. But I’d much prefer they instead just refused to treat Tory voters (I realise this wouldn’t be possible). It’s about time they faced they the consequences of their choices instead of making the rest of us suffer l.

Yep 💯