'This strike is for you too': Nurses gathering at picket lines in Derry and across in NI

Nurses have gathered at picket lines in freezing conditions across the north as strike action for fair pay and better working conditions for staff and patients got under way on Thursday.
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In the biggest strike of its kind in NHS history, nurses in Northern Ireland, England and Wales began the first day of planned industrial action on Thursday from 8am to 8pm.

Royal College of Nursing General Secretary and Chief Executive, Pat Cullen, said: “Nurses are not relishing this, we are acting with a very heavy heart. It has been a difficult decision taken by hundreds of thousands who begin to remove their labour from tomorrow in a bid to be heard, recognised and valued.

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“It is a tragic first for nursing, the RCN and the NHS. Nursing staff on picket lines is a sign of failure on the part of governments.

2019: Nurses from the Royal College of Nursing union strike at Altnagelvin Hospital three years ago this week. DER5119GS - 0072019: Nurses from the Royal College of Nursing union strike at Altnagelvin Hospital three years ago this week. DER5119GS - 007
2019: Nurses from the Royal College of Nursing union strike at Altnagelvin Hospital three years ago this week. DER5119GS - 007

“Our commitment to patients and safe care means that vital services are kept running.

"My plea to patients is to know that this strike is for you too – it’s about waiting lists, treatments that are cancelled year-round and the very future of the NHS.”

The Western Trust said in light of the strike it has ‘regrettably’ taken the decision to cancel some non-emergency services.

A total of 587 new, review and urgent outpatient appointments were postponed across Altnagelvin Hospital, Omagh Primary Care and Treatment Centre and South West Acute Hospital.

December 2019: Nurses from the Royal College of Nursing union strike at Altnagelvin Hospital three years ago this week. DER5119GS - 004December 2019: Nurses from the Royal College of Nursing union strike at Altnagelvin Hospital three years ago this week. DER5119GS - 004
December 2019: Nurses from the Royal College of Nursing union strike at Altnagelvin Hospital three years ago this week. DER5119GS - 004
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“Where possible new appointments have already been allocated or will be allocated shortly via letter.”

Meanwhile eight planned inpatient and day case procedures have been cancelled across Altnagelvin Hospital, Omagh Primary Care and Treatment Centre and South West Acute Hospital and 11 Trust managed GP Practice treatment rooms will be closed.

Community nursing services including rapid response nursing, district nursing, community respiratory nursing and continence services were also limited.

SDLP MLA Mark H Durkan said the decision by the RCN to strike underscores the plight within the health service in recent years.

2019: Nurses from the Royal College of Nursing union strike at Altnagelvin Hospital three years ago this week. DER5119GS - 0082019: Nurses from the Royal College of Nursing union strike at Altnagelvin Hospital three years ago this week. DER5119GS - 008
2019: Nurses from the Royal College of Nursing union strike at Altnagelvin Hospital three years ago this week. DER5119GS - 008
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“It's a disgrace that these health heroes have been forced to strike for the second time in three years and their century-long history. That these workers feel they have no other option underscores how serious their plight is. This is more than a fight for fair pay; it's about safe staffing and patient care. Those in power need to look after the people who look after us.

“It’s saddening and certainly maddening, that the fight for fair pay within the health service has not been resolved. Warnings were not heeded, an adequate pay deal was not secured and now the nursing workforce have been pushed to potential strike action against the backdrop of a cost of living emergency.”

“Staff are being asked to cater to increasing demand with fewer resources. Our nurses constantly go above and beyond the line of duty, working themselves to the point of exhaustion to cover the ever growing number of gaps in the service. it is outrageous that their selfless passion continues to be punished with a bad deal. We must demand better for a workforce who have dedicated their lives to the care of others, whose dedication saw us through the COVID pandemic- that can’t be forgotten. We have to look after the people who look after us.”