Nurses strike outside Northwich's Victoria Infirmary

Nursing staff from more than 55 NHS trusts in England haven taken part in industrial action, including nurses from Victoria Infirmary (Mid Cheshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust).

Pat Cullen, chief executive and general secretary of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN), said nurses felt ‘totally heartbroken’ going on strike, but felt they had no choice.

Many nurses outside Victoria Infirmary in Northwich said they were striking to ensure safe staffing levels and therefore better patient care, as well as improving conditions for student nurses and pay.

Yvonne Thomson, district nurse, said: “We work hours over in our own time to make up for the shortfall of nurses to deliver care to our patients.

“We need to pay more money to attract people to the profession because at the moment there is no uptake on recruitment as nursing does not pay a living wage.”

Ian Hulme, healthcare assistant, added: “I am fighting for the future of our NHS, fair pay, patient safety and better care for all.”

Rachael Higgins-Jones, competency nurse, said she and her colleagues were ‘exhausted’.

“Covid hit everybody hard, but our nurses stood firm and put themselves and their families at risk, going above and beyond on every shift, working over their hours which had an effect on their own health and home lives,” she explained.

“Lots of nurses left due to burnout and lots retired.

“Because the Government cut student nurse numbers a few years ago, there are not enough student nurses coming through to bridge the gap.

“This is putting permanent pressure on the staff who are constantly working in areas that are dangerously short staffed. 

“The Government also put a pay cap on nurse’s wages and this means that we haven’t had a pay rise for the last 10 years.”

Nurses striking outside Victoria Infirmary (Image: Supplied)

She said wages do not meet the recommended national living wage, meaning people are less likely to enter the profession, and some full-time nurses are even having to access foodbanks to support their families.

Rachael added she was striking to help provide a ‘sustainable career for future generations’, as well as ensure current staff are working in safe environments.

Claire Sutton, RCN representative for the north west region said her message to the Prime Minister was: “Get around the table with Pat Cullen (RCN general secretary) and enter into serious conversations to resolve this nursing and NHS crisis.”

Scott Malton, director of Nursing and Quality at Mid Cheshire Hospitals (which runs Victoria Infirmary) said: “The trust works closely with partners to ensure appropriate plans are in place to deal with any service disruptions during industrial action and will continue to do so ahead of any further strikes.

“We are grateful to local and regional RCN teams who have worked closely with us to agree derogation for essential services and staffing levels.

“Together we supported those staff that worked in these areas during industrial action to keep patients safe as well as providing welfare services to those on the picket lines in the cold weather. 

“We urge members of the public to please use NHS 111 Online if they need to access a healthcare service and it’s not an emergency, this will ensure they are signposted to the right service first time.

“Accident and emergency remains available for life threatening illnesses or injuries.”

Downing Street has urged nurses’ leaders to return to the negotiating table following the latest round of strikes announced by the health service unions.

The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: “We continue to be concerned with the level of disruption strikes bring to patient care. We know that trusts are working hard to minimise that.

“As the Health and Social Care Secretary (Steve Barclay) said, we want to continue discussions. We think that is the right way forward rather than picket lines.”