January 19, 2023 7.00 pm This story is over 24 months old

Strength in numbers as trade unions join Lincoln hospital protest

A message of solidarity for nurses across the public sector

By Local Democracy Reporter

Trade unions joined Royal College of Nursing members outside Lincoln County Hospital for a demonstration on Thursday – calling for urgent government action to address the NHS crisis across Lincolnshire and beyond.

NHS staff in Lincolnshire are struggling and have been over the course of a long and difficult winter.

United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust placed its sites in special measures three times in two weeks to try and tackle the issues, while ambulance workers have been going on strike across the country over disputes regarding pay, patient safety and working conditions.

The Royal College of Nursing commenced its latest round of strike action across the country this week, and despite Lincolnshire’s division of the RCN not passing through the ballot for industrial action – a demonstration was set up outside Lincoln County Hospital to raise awareness of the staff’s concerns on Thursday.

It was well-attended by a host of trade union bodies and activists, including the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT), the GMB Union, UNISON, NASUWT (the teachers’ union) and even Extinction Rebellion Lincolnshire.

Mel Stewart is the organiser of the demonstration. | Photo: Ellis Karran for The Lincolnite

Organiser of the demonstration Mel Stewart is a senior staff nurse at Lincoln County Hospital and a Royal College of Nursing representative, and she told The Lincolnite why demonstrations like this are important for the cause.

She said: “Nationally we are doing strike action at several trusts up and down the country, Lincolnshire was not one of those trusts to pass the ballot but I wanted staff to get the feel of what it’s like on a picket line. Although it is not an official picket line, it is a demonstration to show solidarity to those on strike.

“There are a lot of unions here that are already striking, so it’s really nice to have them stand by our side and support what we are doing.

“The public sector is going through a lot of unrest at the minute, so I think finally we are putting our foot down across the board and saying enough is enough – we deserve what we are saying we deserve and you need to listen to us.”

When asked if there was one outstanding factor causing these issues that result in strikes, Mel said: “I can tell you exactly what the problem is – it’s the government themselves.

“They are refusing to listen to what it is we are asking for. They’re calling us greedy because we want a pay rise, but what we’re ultimately asking for is a guarantee of patient safety.

“We are sick to death of it and it’s about time we got out here and fought for our patients. We are patient advocates at the end of the day, it’s what we came into the job to do.”

Bradley Wall is a NASUWT organiser who joined the demonstration in solidarity with the RCN. | Photo: Ellis Karran for The Lincolnite

One of the trade unions to join the RCN at the demonstration today were NASUWT, the union for teachers, and one of its organisers Bradley Wall said the turnout was testament to the solidarity and support that comes with trade union membership.

“We come together for the good of all”, he said. “The government may have brought in draconian measures that attempts to prevent us from taking strike action, but it doesn’t stop us showing solidarity and that’s what we are doing right now.”

Bradley also shared his own experience with the struggles of the local NHS system at the moment, discussing a stressful moment he recently had with the health of his father.

He added: “My dad was in critical care around three weeks ago now, he got put into the majors and we had to drive in, obviously because of the ambulance delays, and there was a room where it was bed-to-bed with no room to sit next to my dad while he’s writhing in pain.

“It literally looked like something from a war zone, so the fact that these doctors and nurses are working under these conditions is remarkable. I asked how they cope and they tell me that it’s been going on for years – this isn’t just a COVID-19 thing, enough is enough and something needs to be done.”

Hamish has frequently joined the picket lines of strikes across Lincoln. | Photo: Ellis Karran for The Lincolnite

Hamish Falconer, Labour’s prospective parliamentary candidate for Lincoln, attended the demonstration and said it is “so important” for NHS staff to get the pay rise he feels they deserve.

“It’s incredibly important to show solidarity with our nurses who are really struggling with the cost of living, who are government are refusing to engage with the Royal College of Nursing about.

“Wages have dropped 4.3% since Karl McCartney was first elected in 2010, it is no wonder people are really struggling to make ends meet, and that’s why I wanted to come out here and show my support.

“People in the city are really struggling, facing long waits for ambulances and hospital beds, the trust went into special measures three times in two weeks – none of that is the fault of doctors and nurses, it’s the fault of a system that’s not delivering for them.”

Falconer, who is lined up to go up against Karl McCartney for the Lincoln seat in parliament at the next General Election, also criticised recent government measures to implement a minimum service level of staff during strike days – as the bill faced scrutiny over its alleged muzzling of workers and their rights to go on strike.

He added: “It is incredibly cynical. I’m proud the Labour Party opposed it, as I bitterly did too. They are creating circumstances where they can sack nurses for doing this sort of thing.

“It’s pure politics. Rishi Sunak is trying to blame strikes for the reasons that the hospitals are under pressure – you walk around Lincoln County Hospital and tell me it’s strikes that are to blame. We didn’t go into emergency measures three times in two weeks because people were on strike, nobody was even on strike at that time!”

| Photo: Ellis Karran for The Lincolnite

Colin Todd, regional organiser at the GMB Union, who have been organising ambulance strikes across the country and in Lincoln in recent weeks and months, said: “We’re all here to support each other, we have a very active trades council and we all have similar fights even though it’s different disputes.

“Other trade unions have supported us on our picket lines for ambulance workers so it was only right that we support this.”


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