THE nursing chief leading her members out on strike today has insisted they will provide chemotherapy services after a NHS manager said cancer treatments could be affected by walkouts.
Pat Cullen, director of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) hit out at Northern health trust chief executive, Dr Tony Stevens, following his comments about the impact of staff shortages in Belfast.
The trade union will stage a 12-hour strike today, beginning at 8am, for the first time in the organisation's 103-year-old history in a dispute over staffing and pay.
"RCN in NI must make clear that our nurses have not withdrawn from providing chemotherapy services or palliative care services. Most definitely not. Trusts are very aware of this and are working with RCN day and daily," Ms Cullen posted on social media.
A total of 14 nurses are required to deliver chemotherapy treatment today at the Bridgewater Suite in Belfast City Hospital - where the north's main cancer centre is based - but Dr Stevens said yesterday they were a "good bit short".
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Speaking on the BBC's Nolan show yesterday, he said: "They're still having conversations to ensure they have those 14. Last night they weren't 100 per cent."
The Irish News asked the Belfast health trust if the nursing shortfall at Bridgewater was linked to strike action or if the jobs shortage already existed.
A trust spokesman said they would not be in a position to comment as negotiations were ongoing between trade unions and trust officials.
The RCN as well as Unison, the biggest healthcare trade union, Nipsa and Unite, last week provided the north's six main health trusts with a list of services which will be exempted from strike action.
Cancer inpatient and outpatient services, Intensive Care Units, children's and maternity services are among those which will be protected.
A&E nurses across the north's hospitals will be striking for the first time however - with locum doctors drafted in to triage patients.
The RCN stressed that casualty departments will be staffed to provide a "life-preserving service".
Paramedics will also be taking to the picket lines for 24-hour strike action, with frontline crews, non-emergency staff, control and support staff all involved.
Eleventh hour negotiations were continuing yesterday between trade union officials and health trusts bosses over what other services will be "derogated" or taken off the table.
Earlier this week, a joint statement was issued by trust chief executives warning of "significant disruption to a wide range of social care and community services, for example, social work cover, day centres, older person's services, and children's services".
Ms Cullen has said existing care is already "unsafe" due to the 3000 nursing vacancies across the north's health service.
The unions are also demanding pay parity with their NHS colleagues in the rest of the UK.
But Dr Stevens yesterday rejected that existing care is below standard.
"We believe that we provide safe services. It's very busy for staff, they feel the pressure, I recognise that...(but) I cannot sit here and accept and allow the public to think that we're running unsafe services," he said.
Read More
- Secretary of State Julian Smith urged to resolve health strike
- Widespread disruption across the north's six health trusts due to strike
