Nurses Strike: What to expect from health services when nurses walkout as the Royal College of Nurses insists patient safety is central
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The Royal College of Nurses (RCN) has confirmed national walkouts will include staff at NHS Highland and the industrial action could last until May 2023.
There are four general hospitals and 20 smaller hospitals or units across almost every part of the Highlands – potentially hundreds of nurses.
- Related Story: Highland nurses set to strike before Christmas
So what does that mean for patient care?
The RCN union released a statement over the summer outlining the various models that any walkout could take and what patients could expect.
The college says that any industrial action must have the preservation of patient safety at its core by maintaining safe staffing levels.
It does that through exemptions or, as the RCN calls them, derogations – that means an exemption is provided to a member or service from taking part in industrial action.
So unlike most other strikes, some staff who would normally be on picket lines could go to work without conflict with their union.
Life-preserving care model
Any RCN industrial action must follow the life-preserving care model which means exemptions/derogations for:
- emergency intervention for the preservation of life or the prevention of permanent disability
- care required for therapeutic services without which life would be jeopardised or permanent disability would occur
- urgent diagnostic procedures and assessment required to obtain information on potentially life-threatening conditions or conditions that could potentially lead to permanent disability.
How that works
The unions would decide, usually after a request from health care bosses, how many staff could go to work using one of three types of model:
- complete exemption of an entire service, like intensive care units
- a Sunday service or Christmas Day service
- a night duty model with the same numbers to cover the day duties along with further staffing requests considered on a case-by-case basis.
However, so far there has been no confirmation of the number of staff at NHS Highland who are members of the RCN union so the impact on services is unknown.
What is known is that the RCN is aiming for maximum disruption with minimal impact on patient care and safety, which is a very difficult “balancing act.”
