NURSES across Wales - including in the Vale of Glamorgan - have gone on strike for the first time ever as part of a UK-wide wave of industrial action in a row over pay.
Services in the Vale affected by the strike include Barry Hospital's Minor Injuries Unit, which will be closed today, Thursday, and on the second day of strike action, set for Tuesday, December 20.
Union members at the Velindre Cancer Centre in Cardiff have also walked out, although chemotherapy is one of the services which will go ahead as planned.
Members of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) have voted in their thousands to take industrial action over low pay, understaffing and patient safety concerns.
Nurses strike in full force in Cardiff. Picture: Huw Evans Picture Agency
Joanne McCarthy, a paediatric surgical nurse, joined the picket line outside the University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff from 7am after finishing a night shift.
She described the situation as “heart-breaking and that “nurses are going home crying” because of what she and her colleagues face each day.
“I’ve been a nurse for 22 years, and I’ve never seen it like this,” Ms McCarthy said.
“We are understaffed to a point where experienced nurses are going home crying."
She added: “We go into nursing to care for families, to look after them as we would want our own families to be, but we can’t do that at the minute, it’s heart-breaking.
“That’s what we’re out here fighting for today.
“I just hope that people realise that it’s not just for nurses we’re striking. We are doing this is to keep free health service going where we can actually care for people.”
Strike action at the Royal Glamorgan Hospital in Llantrisant. Picture: Huw Evans Picture Agency
The strike started at 7am and will end at 7pm.
Nurses from University Hospital Llandough in Penarth have been spotted forming a picket line.
Llandough Hospital picket line getting going in Cardiff! #RCNStrike #FairPayforNursing @theRCN @RCNWales pic.twitter.com/cJTjw1X7T3
— Nick Unwin 🇺🇦 (@Nick_Unwin) December 15, 2022
List of picket lines in South Wales:
- Velindre Cancer Centre;
- University Hospital of Wales and University Hospital Llandough;
- Glangwili General Hospital;
- Prince Philip Hospital;
- Withybush General Hospital;
- Bronglais General Hospital;
- Morriston Hospital;
- Singleton Hospital;
- Neath Port Talbot Hospital;
- Royal Glamorgan Hospital;
- Princess of Wales Hospital;
- Prince Charles Hospital.
A senior nurse on a picket line outside University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff, who wished to stay anonymous, said: “I’ve got friends I work with who are having to go to food banks, or they’re going into debt because they can’t make their mortgage payment every month, and some have actually divorced or split up with their partner mainly because the impact of all the hours they’re having to work to make ends meet.”
Among the claims from nurses was that they buy their own medical equipment at times because often the items provided are inadequate.
According to the Cardiff and Vale University Health Board, minor injuries will be moved to the Emergency Unit at the University Hospital of Wales, and mass vaccination sites will be closed.
Cardiff and Vale University Health Board patients who had appointments booked today or on December 20 should have been contacted via text message to inform them if their appointment is going ahead or if it is cancelled.
The strike started at 7am and will end at 7pm. Picture: Huw Evans Picture Agency
Health board chairman Charles Janczewski and chief executive Suzanne Rankin issued a statement to the communities of Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan.
The statement said: “As a health board we have spent many months working with staff associations and Welsh Government colleagues, and of course our own colleagues, to ensure that we can manage the care and treatment of you and your loved ones as best as we can within an environment of significantly reduced capacity and workforce resource.
“Our stance as a health board has been to respect the right to strike and participate in strike action, but for our nurses to do this fairly and appropriately and continue to work with us to provide the best quality service we can."
They added: “Pay is a difficult issue and whilst we would wish to reward colleagues and recognise their value, we are not naive to the current financial situation and in any event the decision is not in our hands.”
Nurses have gathered across the country to strike. Picture: Huw Evans Picture Agency
A spokesperson from Public Health Wales said: “We sincerely hope that with continued dialogue, all parties can be supported to find a way through these difficult times.
“Public Health Wales recognises that everyone wants the best outcome for NHS patients and staff.”
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