Nurses at York Hospital say they’ve 'no choice' but to strike

Scores of nurses lined the entrance on Wiggington Road as passing motorists beeped their horns in support of the strike, which has been called by the Royal College of Nursing (RCN).

Staff from more than 55 NHS trusts in England are taking part in industrial action - which started on Wednesday and continues today (Thursday, January 19) - following two days of action in December.

The York and Scarborough hospitals trust has said it has “robust plans” in place to manage the impact of industrial action and ensure it continues to deliver safe care for patients.

Anne Penny, a bed manager until summer of last year who now works for the RCN in York Hospital, said: “When I first started doing it, it was a very pleasant role – but the last five years have been torturous and the last 18 months have just been ridiculous.”

Ms Penny said there was no space in the hospital because there is not enough social care support available outside of hospital.

Nurses on strike outside York Hospital on Wednesday

She added: “There isn’t anywhere for them to go, so they end up ‘blocking’ the bed space. You’ve got people waiting on ambulance trolleys in corridors waiting for somebody else to go home – and it’s all night.

“I’ve been in the NHS since 1974 and I didn’t ever want to end up on the picket line at the end of my nursing career but they’ve left us with no choice – they’ve pushed us.”

Ms Penny said that the government claiming the average nurse's pay is £37,000 was misleading – and said Health Secretary Steven Barclay needed to be open to discussions on pay.

“They need to look at the pay to encourage people to join the profession. Otherwise, they’ll go to work at McDonald’s and drop a pound an hour.”

Bronte, a nurse on the acute admissions unit for the elderly, qualified during the Covid lockdowns.

“This is the worst it’s ever been throughout the whole pandemic,” she said. “Looking back, I probably wouldn’t have gone into it if I knew what it was like.

“We’re here to support the patients, who are not getting the care that they deserve and need.”

Senior nurse Mary Clarke, who has been working in the NHS for 40 years, said: “We do the job we do because we are nurses, but we are not being treated fairly – the staffing levels are ridiculous.

“It’s falling apart – I don’t think in the next 40 years the NHS will still be here.”

She added: “I haven’t slept for weeks knowing this was going to happen.”

Mr Barclay said that, while he recognised the cost-of-living pressures on NHS staff, “unaffordable pay rises” would stoke inflation.

He claimed: “If we provide unaffordable pay rises to NHS staff, we will take billions of pounds away from where we need it most.”