The NHS today asked Steve Barclay to go to court to prevent nurses from going on strike later this month.
Bosses are concerned about the impact of the 48-hour strike planned from April 30 to May 2 on patients and believe it is illegal.
The health secretary will now have to decide whether to seek an injunction, with union leaders claiming this would be akin to ‘bullying’ and ‘silencing’ nurses.
In a major escalation of the pay dispute, the Royal College of Nursing has ordered members to leave emergency room, intensive care and cancer wards for the first time.
But NHS Employers says the union’s six-month mandate for industrial action expires at the end of the first day of the strike, stripping the legitimacy of the entire period.
NHS leaders have asked Steve Barclay to go to court in a bid to stop nurses from going on strike later this month.
Pat Cullen (photo: centre), General Secretary and Chief Executive Officer of the Royal College of Nursing. The union’s planned 48-hour strike on April 30 has come under fire for possibly being illegal
The letter from NHS Employers chief executive Danny Mortimer said the health service has ‘responsibilities’ to staff to ensure they are acting legally, but ‘the most important thing is for our patients for their safety and care’
A letter from NHS Employers CEO Danny Mortimer to Mr Barclay says the health service has ‘responsibilities’ to staff to ensure they act legally, but ‘most importantly to our patients for their safety and care’.
He adds: ‘NHS employers have been making the RCN aware since April 19 of their very real concern that the RCN is misapplying the strike mandates it received following the votes that closed at noon on November 2, 2022.
NHS Employers have invited the RCN to amend its strike plans over these concerns.
‘The RCN has denied this and copies of the correspondence have been shared with your officials.
“From the advice we have received, it is very likely that if the announcements of industrial action are wrong on one point, they are wrong in their entirety and that the strike action for the entire period from April 30 to May 2 is unlawful.” is.
“I am writing to ask that you now intervene in this matter on behalf of the relevant NHS organizations in England to seek the opinion of the courts as to whether the planned strike action from 30 April to 2 May 2023 is legal.
“I believe that establishing this position permanently is in the best interest of our employees and patients.”
The union is said to have said it will “forcibly oppose” attempts to seek a court order to block union action, which they say are lawful.
It has already revealed that it will hold another vote after the strike in an attempt to extend its mandate so it can cause disruption all the way to Christmas.
Pat Cullen, RCN’s general secretary and chief executive, said: ‘The NHS’s decision not to move forward with this is the right one, but ministers must decide whether to silence nurses.
Bullying nurses and dragging us through the highest courts would not be good for the government.
“It would show utter contempt for the nursing staff. We will argue for the legality of our action in all forums.”
Nurses represented by the RCN will stay out at 8 p.m. on May 30 after members rejected a pay offer from the government of a 5 percent pay rise and a one-time bonus.
Health leaders have warned that mental health patients could harm themselves, take their own lives or pose a risk to others if nurses continue to plan to escalate their strike action.
More than 500,000 NHS appointments and operations in England have been canceled due to staff strikes, with further disruption planned
Nearly 200,000 hospital appointments and procedures in England had to be rescheduled when tens of thousands of junior doctors staged a 96-hour strike between April 11 and 15 in a dispute over wages.
That came on top of thousands of appointments that had already been canceled or delayed by strikes by other unions, including the RCN.
Adding in community engagements brings the total affected since December to more than half a million.
The NHS Confederation, representing NHS organisations, said mental health leaders are warning of ‘serious consequences’ to patient safety as the number of nursing staff is spread ‘even thinner than usual’.
In a statement, it said mental health leaders “are deeply concerned that if the Royal College of Nursing remains firm in its decision not to allow derogations for services, including emergency and critical care, at a national or local level , and do not agree to exempt high security and inpatient psychiatric units, the risk of a serious and sustained impact on users of services cannot be mitigated.”
The NHS Confederation said the RCN’s current position could mean that people could become a risk to themselves, “including by harming themselves or in extreme cases taking their own life, as well as others”.