'Overworked and burnt out'

A series of demos by striking Guys’ and St Thomas’ theatre nurses in London this week culminated at the gates of No 10 Downing Street on Thursday (September 5).

Around 100 theatre nurses have been in dispute since June over unsustainable increases in shift times. On Thursday they sent a loud and clear message that they will no longer simply accept staff burnout and so risk patient safety.

Protests in the week included demos outside the Department of Health and Social Care, NHS England and London Bridge Hospital on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, which coincided with their strike days (September 3-5).

Commenting, Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said, “Guys’ and St Thomas’ theatre nurses know crushing workloads are an issue across the whole of the NHS. The changes to shift times at the trust mean they are at the sharp end of reckless attempts to reduce waiting lists, with no apparent concern for the health and wellbeing of the staff providing the care.

“Working devoted staff into the ground will make things worse, as dedicated NHS workers leave for the sake of their own health. That is the nurses’ message to Guys’ and St Thomas’, which must reintroduce sustainable hours, and to the government, which cannot expect to fix the NHS by shovelling ever increasing demands onto already exhausted staff.”

The Thursday demo began at St Thomas Hospital and proceeded to Downing Street, where striking staff brandished placards demanding management ‘protect patients’ and ‘stop exploiting nurses,’ with nurses ‘at breaking point’. You can view photos from the demo below:

Photos by Mark Thomas