Striking nurses ‘put cancer patients at risk’: Royal College of Nursing comes under growing pressure

Nurses who refuse to provide life-saving cancer care during the upcoming strikes will put patients at risk, health leaders and charities warn.

The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) came under increasing pressure last night to reverse plans to abandon sick cancer patients in the push for a bigger pay rise.

The union revealed it will escalate union action by demanding nurses leave emergency rooms, intensive care units and cancer units for the first time later this month.

The 48-hour picket, which begins at 8pm on April 30, comes after members narrowly turned down an offer of a 5 per cent pay rise and a one-off bonus of up to £3,789.

The RCN has demanded new talks, but Rishi Sunak has insisted there will be no more money to improve the deal, which has already been accepted by Unison, the largest health union.

The decision to disrupt cancer services, taken in February, comes as the latest figures show that more than 2,000 patients with the disease in England waited more than a month to start treatment.

In addition, almost 6,000 patients with cancer waited more than two months for treatment after an urgent referral from their GP due to suspected cancer.

The longer patients wait for a diagnosis and treatment, the more likely a tumor has spread, reducing their chances of survival.

Michelle Mitchell, the CEO of Cancer Research UK, said: ‘The possibility of continued strike action is a major concern for patients and their loved ones. We urge all parties to work together to ensure that people do not miss out on life-saving services.’

Miriam Deakin, from NHS Providers, representing NHS trusts, said: ‘The planned strike with no exceptions for cancer services is a major concern and puts patient care at risk.’

An RCN spokesman said: ‘Nurses don’t want to go on strike.

“We have given the NHS and Government two weeks to plan this and it is the employer’s responsibility to maintain a safe workforce.

“We expect them to cancel non-urgent clinical work and elective procedures taking place during the strike period.

“We know this is a difficult task and there are exceptional circumstances where we would call it off in any hospital.

“But we should not forget that employers already make difficult staffing arrangements on most days.

‘Nurses constantly have to “make do” with too few staff or too few beds for people.

“This pressure can no longer continue.

It’s time to turn the tables, the government will have to do without our members.

“The government can’t tell them they’re too valuable to strike, but not valuable enough to pay them fairly.

“It’s about time they put an offer on the table that reflects the difference nurses make in our lives.”