British nurses strike for the first time and demand higher pay

The walkout is just one of a series of industrial action across Britain this month, as soaring inflation, rising interest rates and recession are putting pressure on workers.

LONDON – Nurses across Britain have stepped up on strike Thursday for the first time in the National Health Service's 74-year history, highlighting the critical challenges the long-revered system faces after years of underfunding and as the government grapples with an incipient budget crisis. /p>

On a freezing day, nurses and their supporters marched on picket lines in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, demanding a pay rise of 19% and better working conditions which they believe will make the profession more attractive and will help address critical staffing shortages.

"It's been incredibly difficult," said Melanie Denison, a critical care nurse who has worked in the N.H.S. for 25 years, while picketing outside St. Mary's Hospital in North London. Around her, a crowd of striking nurses, wearing hats, gloves and thick coats, marched with signs that read: "Staff shortages cost lives".

"The years since Covid have been the hardest I have ever known," she added.

The government said that the wage demands were "unaffordable" and pointed to recent wage increases and new funding plans for the health service as evidence of government support.

The strike reflects growing dissatisfaction among healthcare workers and many members of the public with the deterioration of service in recent years.The free healthcare model that provided equal service to everyone in the country, regardless of their income, has long been a national pride

L The 12-hour strike was the first of two scheduled walkouts, with another scheduled for next Tuesday. Nurses still manned the most vital departments, such as intensive care units and chemotherapy, dialysis and some pediatric wards, but officials said non-emergency medical care would be much less available. Hospitals and other healthcare facilities say they have tried to manage schedules to keep patients safe during the action.

The nurses' strike is part of a series of work measures taken place across Britain this month as skyrocketing inflation, rising interest rates and recession put pressure on workers. Railway workers, airport baggage handlers and paramedics are among others to stage walkouts over the next few weeks.

The strike comes as the health service is in crisis, with deteriorating working conditions for clinical staff amid the indirect pressures of the pandemic. There have been record delays for ambulance responses and a large backlog for medical procedures, among many other issues.

Created in the aftermath of World War II , the National Health Service is one of the nation's most admired institutions, providing treatment on an as-needed basis without money changing hands (with some exceptions, such as dentistry and drug costs). /p>

Paid mainly through general taxation and payroll deductions, healthcare cost £192bn in 2020-21. But faced with an aging population and seemingly limitless demand, Britain's healthcare system has long cracked.

After the financial crash of 2008, UK public spending was maintained during the years of austerity. Health system resources have grown less rapidly than before.

In 2021, Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced an increase in payroll taxes to help fund health and welfare, but that increase was reversed by her successor, Liz Truss.

Under Rishi Sunak, the new Prime Minister, last month, the government has promised the health service an additional £3.3 billion. stopped...