Nurses' strike must ignite debate over reforming the NHS

IF the leaks are correct, the Royal College of Nursing is about to announce that last week’s ballot of its 300,000 members resulted in a huge majority in favour of strike action. It was the first such ballot in

- Stephen Pollard

the RCN’s 106-year history – there has never previously been a national strike by nurses – and the impression of an NHS in crisis is difficult to avoid, with ambulance staff, midwives and physiotherapists all about to hold their own votes on strikes.

You hardly need me to point out that while strikes in other key public services such as the railways cause chaos, a nurses’ strike is of a different magnitude.

Not just because nothing else is as vital or precious as health, but because there is probably no group in the country as trusted and highly regarded as nurses. We stood on our doorsteps and clapped health workers during the pandemic – heroes one and all.

The specific cause of this unrest is money. Nurses want pay rises above inflation, arguing that their pay has fallen in real terms by over 20 per cent since 2010, while NHS bosses say they only have enough to pay an average of 4.75 per cent, which amounts to a pay cut when inflation is 12 per cent.