NHS leaders fear patients will come to harm as cancer services are “hit hard” by upcoming nurses’ strikes.
The NHS’ four chief nurses wrote to the Royal College of Nursing general secretary Pat Cullen warning patients’ lives are at risk due to life-saving services not being protected when nurses walk out on Thursday.
The RCN has since agreed that staff will cover emergency cancer and mental health crisis services on strike days on a reduced rota.
But trust executives told The Independent that they were concerned they won’t be able to fill any gaps with agency staff due to RCN rules, which will worsen existing shortages.
One senior NHS source claimed cancer services weren’t being prioritised by unions despite national agreements to protect chemotherapy treatments.
They said: “I fear that someone is going to get hurt as the system is so pressured and fragile right now, whether strike related or not, public sympathy will shift considerably if this were to happen.”
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Specialist cancer hospitals such as the Royal Marsden has been “hit hard”, sources said, with hundreds of appointments postponed by strikes, while another suggested thousands of cancer appointments nationally were set to be put back.
The Independent understands that unions are arguing that chemotherapy and cancer surgery shouldn’t go ahead under bank holiday or Christmas-level staffing levels, with union reps pushing for overnight levels of staffing instead.
Mental health services are understood to be a particular area of concern, with trusts struggling to get agreements locally with union reps for child and adult crisis services staffing.
The Independent reported on Monday that patients’ surgeries could be cancelled on the day, while trusts were facing overnight levels of staffing.
In a letter first reported by The Times on Tuesday, the NHS’ four chief nursing officers for England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland called on Ms Cullen at the RCN to allow union members to break the picket line to cover A&E services, cancer therapy and urgent mental health care.
It said: “We hear from our colleagues that they are concerned by the assumption, implied by the RCN, that night duty staffing on day duty is safe.
“Ward activities during the day are very different to those at night. This decision has the potential to significantly impact on the safety of patient care (for example, by impacting delivery of intravenous antibiotics on time, patient observations and medication rounds). We would ask you to consider these concerns.”
Since the letter was sent on Monday, the RCN has agreed to ensure cover for emergency cancer services, mental health crisis services, and Christmas Day-level staffing for community services such as palliative care and clinically urgent interventions.
A Royal College of Nursing spokesperson said: “Nurse leaders are working closely with us as part of our commitment to make this strike safe and effective.
“This letter is already out of date as we have met senior clinicians today and agreed key points. The safety of patients is everybody’s top concern.
“The public backs our campaign and knows that patients need a strong nursing workforce but at the moment there are record losses jeopardising safe care.”
On Tuesday, Pat Cullen accused the government of “belligerence” after health secretary Steve Barclay refused to discuss nurses’ pay during an unsuccessful last ditch-meeting aimed at resolving the strikes.
