NHS Strikes
Throughout December, NHS staff across the country have gone on strike following the breakdown of negotiations between the trade unions and the UK Government.
The trade unions were able to avert some of the strike action expected in Scotland and Wales as the devolved administrations negotiated pay settlements whereas the UK Government has refused to intervene to prevent the same in England.
Darren has visited his constituents at Southmead Hospital on strike days to convey his support to them. He has encouraged the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care to sit down with the trade unions to resolve the ongoing pay disputes.
Please see Darren’s statement on the ongoing strikes across the NHS as follows:
Dear Constituent,
Thank you for contacting me about NHS staff pay. We owe all NHS workers our full support. Day in, day out, they make an incredible contribution to our health service. I pay tribute to all our NHS workers across our constituency for the work that they do. I have visited nurses and other health workers striking at Southmead Hospital in recent weeks to convey my support.
Despite the remarkable efforts of staff, I am concerned that Government mismanagement has resulted in record NHS waiting lists and chronic staff shortages. Years of pay freezes and burnout are affecting hard-pressed staff and work-related stress has increased.
Valuing our NHS workforce, through fair pay and conditions, is essential to retaining staff and tackling vacancies. Yet dedicated NHS staff have been forced into industrial action. Against the backdrop of falling real-wages and mounting pressures, I understand the concerns of health workers on pay and conditions, and on the state of NHS services. Strikes are always a last resort and NHS staff do not want to take action any more than anyone else wants it.
In my view, the power to stop these strikes lies with the Health Secretary and the Prime Minister. Yet their refusal to engage in serious negotiations is leading to talks breaking down. Instead, Ministers are legislating for ‘minimum service levels’ on strike days, which I believe will only serve to inflame rather than resolve disputes.
Rather than blaming nurses, paramedics and NHS staff for the challenges in our health service – which are instead a direct result of 13 years of Government mismanagement – I believe Ministers should engage seriously with health unions to avert further strikes.
Talk of ‘minimum service levels’ on strike days, in my view, is disrespectful to hardworking NHS staff and hypocritical when the Government cannot guarantee minimum service levels on any other day. This was highlighted by Keir Starmer at Prime Minister’s Questions this week when the Prime Minister was unable to answer how long the most severely unwell patients are currently having to wait for an ambulance.
I believe the problems across our health and social care system are endemic. And the root cause of this crisis is the failure to provide the NHS with the staff it needs to treat patients on time.
I am pleased the Opposition has set out its plan to support NHS staff and improve patient care, recruiting 7,500 more doctors and 10,000 more nurses and midwives every year; doubling the number of district nurses; and providing 5,000 more health visitors, paid for by abolishing the non-dom tax status.
Please do let me know if there is anything further I can do.
Yours sincerely,
DarrenDarren Jones MP
Member of Parliament for Bristol North West