Northern Ireland hospital system ‘on life support’, nurses’ union preparing for strikes warns

By Niall Deeney
Published 15th Nov 2022, 17:26 BST
Updated 15th Nov 2022, 17:28 BST
Emergency Department at the Antrim Area Hospital in Northern Ireland which closed its doors to new admissions on Saturday night because conditions had become unsafe, a health chief has said. Jennifer Welsh, chief executive at the Northern Health Trust, said the situation in the emergency department (ED) at hospital on Monday remained "extremely pressured". Picture date: Monday November 14 2022.Emergency Department at the Antrim Area Hospital in Northern Ireland which closed its doors to new admissions on Saturday night because conditions had become unsafe, a health chief has said. Jennifer Welsh, chief executive at the Northern Health Trust, said the situation in the emergency department (ED) at hospital on Monday remained "extremely pressured". Picture date: Monday November 14 2022.
Emergency Department at the Antrim Area Hospital in Northern Ireland which closed its doors to new admissions on Saturday night because conditions had become unsafe, a health chief has said. Jennifer Welsh, chief executive at the Northern Health Trust, said the situation in the emergency department (ED) at hospital on Monday remained "extremely pressured". Picture date: Monday November 14 2022.
The hospital system in Northern Ireland "hasn't just toppled over, it's on life support", the Royal College of Union (RCN) has warned as it prepares for strike action.

Rita Devlin, director of the RCN in Northern Ireland, said the pressures of the last few days are "the worst I have ever seen".

She was speaking after Antrim Area Hospital declared a 'major incident' at the weekend with the dorrs closed to new patients, while the Ulster Hospital said on Monday night it was under "extreme pressure".

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“For an emergency department to tell people not to come under any circumstance is unprecedented, Ms Devlin said.

"The system hasn’t just toppled over, it’s on life support."

She continued: “How bad do things need to become before we are able to take decisive action to begin to address these most serious of issues? We have absolutely no political leadership to turn to and this is going to be a huge stumbling block when trying to put measures in place to help the situation."

A strike ballot involving Northern Ireland members of the Unison trade union is due to close on Friday.

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In a statement, a Unison spokesperson said: "The deeply worrying developments at two major Trusts over the last weekend has thrown into sharp focus the reality for nursing and healthcare staff."

Referring to the ballot, the union spokesperson added: "We can expect disruption across the whole health service from early next month."

The RCN has campaigned across the UK for a pay increase of 5% above the rate of inflation, which currently stands at around 12%.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, speaking to ITV News on Tuesday, said: "“We have enormous gratitude for our nurses, and indeed all the other workers in the NHS, for what they do and have done for us over the past couple of years.

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“But what the unions are asking for is a 17% pay rise, and I think most people watching will understand that that’s unaffordable and the way we deal with these situations, because of course, it’s difficult and of course people are struggling, is that we have an independent body make recommendations to the Government about what a fair settlement is.

“Nursing staff, particularly those in emergency departments, are consistently working under intolerable pressure and stress.”

Related topics:Northern IrelandUNISONRishi SunakGovernment