January 11, 2023 12.11 pm This story is over 24 months old

Nurse organises Lincoln hospital demonstration to support NHS strikes

She said it isn’t just about pay and the priority is patient safety

A nurse has organised a demonstration at Lincoln County Hospital for next week to show support to the ongoing NHS strikes happening the across UK, saying the atmosphere in the wards is the “worst she’s ever seen”.

While Lincolnshire nurses did not qualify for the strike action planned on Thursday, January 19, a demonstration will take place outside the Lincoln County Hospital grounds between 2pm and 3pm.

Mel Stewart qualified in 2015 and has worked within emergency medicine as a nurse for the United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust (ULHT) since then. In January 2021 she told The Lincolnite that the atmosphere on the wards is always tense, a situation she feels has now got worse.

The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) expects to see a pay award that goes 5% above inflation. However, Lincolnshire did not meet the legal threshold to strike as 50% of ballot papers need to be returned and Mel said they were “just shy” of that, but many staff still wish to show their support

Mel has organised a demonstration for those who are able to make it, including employees on days off.

It is not a strike, but a demonstration to give staff the opportunity to take part, and Mel said it isn’t just about pay and that the priority is patient safety.

Mel, 28, is anticipating around 15-20 staff will attend and has also invited local trade unions, including the Lincoln Trade Union Council. She was also on a 200-strong picket line in Nottingham for the Enough is Enough protest on December 15, 2022, where she spoke on behalf of the RCN.

Mel is a staff nurse at Lincoln County Hospital.

Mel said: “Lincolnshire didn’t get the legal threshold to strike, including my trust. I know when speaking to a lot of people in my trust they were upset about it, so for me setting up a demo, just for an hour, to allow them to show their support was really important so they can genuinely say they’ve been able to fight for what they deserve.

“Our demands stay the same, we want what we’re asking for. The government has point blank refused to engage with the RCN and any of the unions about pay.

“Whilst our demand is high, and we believe we truly deserve that, we are here to negotiate and consider what they offer, but they have to offer something.

“We don’t want to strike, or to be holding a demonstration, but Health Secretary Steve Barclay is refusing to talk to us about pay. The RCN and other unions have approached him, and he is happy to talk about other subjects, but not that one.

“This is in no way criticising the trust. With the amount of critical incidents it has had to declare, the trust is doing its level best with the resources it has. We are not blaming the trust, but are being shunned by the government.

“People are falling over and are crippled by the amount of hours they are doing both paid and unpaid.

“This is the last thing we can do and I’m not sure what the next step is. We need to put our foot down up and down the UK and feel the strike action is sending the message and we’ve had nothing but support. We will continue to strike unless negotiations happen.”

Mel spoke at the Enough is Enough protest on behalf of the Royal College of Nursing on December 15, 2022. | Photo: Mel Stewart

Mel added that United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust “understand the pressures we are under and are supportive of staff expressing their opinions”.

She said: “I appreciate this kind of strike action puts them in a tenable position. They are trying to support the staff and patients in the area as much as possible.

“There is a lot of stigma and uncertainty about strike action. The government is spreading a lot of information about it that we could lose her jobs. These are unprecedented times and has been the first strike action to this scale in over 100 years of the Royal College of Nursing’s history.”

Mel was part of the picket line at the strike in Nottingham in December 2022. | Photo: Mel Stewart

The Lincolnite asked the Department of Health and Social Care for a response and was told that the Secretary of State has been out this and to feel free to quote from his comments across various broadcasters.

It said that “by accepting the independent pay review body recommendations, it has given over one million NHS workers a pay rise of at least £1,400 this year” – see the DHSC’s NHS industrial action fact sheet here.

ULHT were invited to give a comment, but said it won’t be providing a statement on the demonstration at this time.


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