Government holds ‘constructive’ meeting with nursing strike organisers

The Government has held a ‘constructive’ meeting with organisers of the planned nurses’ strike.The Royal College of Nursing said its members have been ‘pushed’ to the position where striking is their only option, adding that they can no longer be ‘ignored’ by ministers.Health Secretary Steve Barclay spoke with the union’s general secretary, Pat Cullen, on Thursday in a bid to avert the industrial action.After the meeting, the minister said on Twitter: ‘Constructive meeting with @theRCN covering a number of topics. Nurses do an incredible job & I regret some union members have voted for strikes.’My priority is to keep patients safe and minimise disruption – my door is open & we have agreed to meet again shortly.’Ms Cullen stayed tight-lipped when asked by reporters outside the Department of Health building in Whitehall how the talks had gone.Mr Barclay was willing to discuss improvements to working conditions such as on rosters, but was ‘not negotiating’ on pay, the PA news agency understands.He wants to stick to the NHS pay review body’s recommendation of a £1,400 rise rather than the increase of at least 15% nurses are demanding.A DHSC source said: ‘Steve is very much in listening mode, he wants to hear from them about their concerns. He’s very focused on the workforce and wants to do anything we possibly can to get more nurses in.’But on pay, they said: ‘We are not negotiating because we have accepted the recommendation of the pay review body.’It came after Matthew Taylor, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, which represents most NHS organisations, said there are national and regional plans to minimise the impact on patients, but admitted that operations and appointments will have to be cancelled or postponed.He said the RCN has promised to maintain emergency and critical care ‘but there will be an impact if there is industrial action in terms of cancelled appointments, cancelled procedures, and NHS leaders will do everything we can to minimise that and to ensure that patients are kept informed of what is happening.’Patricia Marquis, RCN director for England, told BBC Breakfast that current NHS services are ‘not safe’ and the Government has ‘failed to listen’ to what nursing staff have been saying.She said there are some services that need to continue during strike action to keep patients safe ‘and we will agree with employers what those are and which staff should be working’.She added that employers across most of the UK need 14 days’ notice of strike action, adding: ‘What I can say is that we intend to take action certainly before the end of this year.’Meanwhile, Saffron Cordery, interim chief executive of NHS Providers, said: ‘We completely understand how strongly they feel – below-inflation pay awards, rising cost of living… we’ve heard these tales of nurses resorting to food banks, many trusts are setting up school uniform banks, for example, to support nurses and others in the basic costs of living. We have to see the Government come round the tableSaffron Cordery, NHS Providers’We also have to remember that the NHS has been struggling for a long time in terms of staff shortages and workloads that have really been rocketing, so we understand the circumstances.’She urged ministers to talk to the unions to reach a resolution.’We have to see the Government come round the table,’ she added.Industrial action is expected to be held before the end of the year at some of the UK’s biggest hospitals, including Guy’s and St Thomas’ opposite Parliament, the Royal Infirmary in Edinburgh, University Hospital Wales, and Belfast’s Royal Victoria.The RCN announced on Wednesday that its members in the majority of NHS employers across the UK have backed industrial action.During industrial action the health service will turn its attention to treating emergency patients in a ‘life-preserving care model’, with sources saying some hospitals on strike days will have staffing levels similar to those over Christmas.Some of the most serious cancer cases could still be treated, while urgent diagnostic procedures and assessments will be staffed if they are needed to gather data on potentially life-threatening conditions or those that could lead to permanent disability.Other health worker unions including Unison and the GMB will announce the result of strike ballots before the end of the month among staff including ambulance drivers and paramedics, hospital porters and cleaners.Physiotherapists started voting on Monday over industrial action, while a ballot of midwives opens on Friday.The unions are protesting over a pay award earlier this year of £1,400 for most NHS workers, with the RCN calling for a rise of 5% above the rate of inflation.