Health crisis: RCN in ‘unprecedented’ appeal for politicians to act

The nursing union embarked on the first strike action in its century-long history last month in a dispute over pay and staffing levels in the Northern Ireland health service.

In an advertisement published in today’s News Letter as well as the Belfast Telegraph and the Irish News, the RCN issues a direct appeal for “political leadership” to resolve the crisis.

This comes as the RCN prepares to take further strike action tomorrow and on Friday.

Pat Cullen, director of the RCN in Northern Ireland, said: “It is unprecedented for the Royal College of Nursing to publish a message in this way but we felt it was really important to communicate directly with the public in Northern Ireland to explain why nurses are taking this action.

“We understand the impact that going on strike will have but this decision has not been taken lightly and has been taken after we have exhausted every other avenue open to us.”

She added: “As we have said, it is with a heavy heart that we are taking this step.”

In the advertisement, the RCN highlights several statistics which it says shows the scale of the crisis facing the health service here.

“Nearly 174,000 outpatient appointments were cancelled by hospitals in Northern Ireland – not patients – in 2018/19,” the ad states. “It is clear that people in Northern Ireland are not getting the care and treatment they need.

“We believe the health service has been left abandoned – we need accountability – and we need political leadership as a matter of urgency.”