What the recent strikes can teach us about fixing emergency care

In the NHS we’ve recently been through enough days of industrial action to recognise a pattern. In the run-up to a strike there are feelings of impending doom, with mutterings about how difficult it will be to keep the service running. There are concerns that communications to the public about what to do aren’t early enough or loud enough. There are staff meetings, with heated discussions about acting down, acting up, or acting across, and questions about who will cover the night rota.In the end, almost everyone mucks in. Conversations between the staff who stay and those who walk out are muted and strained on both sides. And there are carefully worded emails about keeping patients safe and recognising the rights of staff.The strike begins, and mostly it’s fine. Actually, it’s more than fine: in the emergency department everything works better than usual. The media interest probably discourages some attendances,…
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