
Nigerian nurses end strike following deal with government
The National Association of Nigeria Nurses and Midwives said in a statement that the government has responded to their demands and provided "clear timelines" for putting them in place, but added that they would be monitoring the implementation of the signed memorandum of understanding.
The nurses began the action on July 30, threatening to scale it up to an indefinite strike if their demands were not met within the seven days. They are demanding higher pay, better working conditions, and increased recruitment.
The nurses' union held a meeting on Friday with representatives of the government led by Minister of Health and Social Welfare Ali Pate and his counterpart in the Labour and Employment Ministry, Muhammad Dingyadi.
Pate had earlier announced a suspension of the strike after the meeting, pledging that the government would address the issues raised by the nurses. The meeting also resolved that no nurse who participated in the strike would be punished by the government.

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BBC News
2 hours ago
- BBC News
Survey launched for 'once-in-a-lifetime' Keighley hospital
The public is being asked for their views to help shape a new billion-pound hospital scheme near Keighley. The new facility, which will replace the current Airedale Hospital, will be built on the existing site, with services continuing at Airedale while the re-build work takes place. The current hospital serves 220,000 people living in the Bradford and Craven online survey, launched by the Airedale NHS Foundation Trust, is looking for suggestions regarding accessibility, communal spaces, signage and the use of technology at the new hospital. Foluke Ajayi is currently chief executive of the trust which runs Airedale Hospital, and will be in charge of building its replacement. She said: "We are committed to building a hospital that serves the needs of everyone in our community."This latest survey builds on the raft of valuable insight we have gathered so far."As part of the government's New Hospital Programme, we will be using a national template called Hospital 2.0, which incorporates the latest innovations and technology. "Combining this with the views of our patients, staff and the public will help make the most of this once-in-a lifetime opportunity, and create a hospital we can all be proud of."She added that the trust was "excited" about the future for Airedale and urged local people to "join the conversation". Complete rebuild Airedale Hospital was built using the controversial material known as reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete, or Raac, which has been found to be unstable and prone to such, the hospital was earmarked for a complete rebuild under the previous government's New Hospitals Programme - a decision later confirmed by the present government, following its review of the scheme.A meeting of Bradford Council's health and social care scrutiny committee was told, in February, that work on the rebuild is expected to begin in the same meeting, councillors were told the scheme to replace the hospital with a new building could cost up to £1.5bn.A report prepared for the meeting said: "A capital funding envelope of between £1bn and £1.5bn has been confirmed, recognising the need to completely rebuild the hospital."Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.


Sky News
11 hours ago
- Sky News
NHS figures reveal impact of five-day resident doctors' strike
The NHS has said 93% of planned operations, tests and procedures went ahead during a recent strike that saw fewer than a third of resident doctors walk out. Early data shows the NHS maintained care for an estimated 10,000 more patients than it did during last year's industrial action. Thousands of resident doctors - previously known as junior doctors - took part in the five-day strike, which ended on Wednesday morning. The overall number that walked out was down by 7.5% (1,243) on the previous strike in late June last year, according to early analysis of management information collected by NHS England. There are roughly 77,000 resident doctors working in hospital and community health services, meaning they make up about half of all doctors in the NHS. While most patients received treatments as planned, NHS chief executive Sir James Mackey said: "We should still acknowledge that there were thousands whose care was disrupted." NHS staff are working to ensure cancelled appointments can be rescheduled as soon as possible but "a repeat of this action will be unacceptable" for the patients affected, he added. "So, I would urge the Resident Doctor Committee to get back to the negotiating table and work with us and the government on the meaningful improvements we can make to resident doctors' working lives." 1:26 Health Secretary Wes Streeting said: "I want to again thank staff from across the NHS who have put in an incredible shift to make sure that the NHS was open to as many patients as possible over the five days of unnecessary strike action. "Despite the huge effort made to keep as much planned care as possible going, let's be clear - these damaging strikes still come at a cost to patients, other staff and the NHS." The dispute between the BMA and the government largely centres on pay - but Mr Streeting has repeatedly said there is no money for an increase, adding that it "should be clear to the BMA by now that it will lose a war with this government". He has said talks could lead to improvements in the working lives of resident doctors. 3:22 Earlier this week, the co-chairs of the BMA's Resident Doctor Committee, Dr Melissa Ryan and Dr Ross Nieuwoudt, said they "look forward" to returning to the negotiating table. A statement added: "The BMA has been willing to negotiate throughout this dispute, and we remain committed to finding a resolution. "We are very clear on what is needed to settle this pay dispute, and we hope the secretary of state is now equally clear that a credible offer must be brought to the table to achieve a settlement and prevent further strike action."


The Independent
12 hours ago
- The Independent
NHS cancelled thousands of appointments during resident doctor strikes
Thousands of patients had their NHS appointments cancelled during the five-day resident doctors' s trike last month. However early data also shows the NHS maintained care for an estimated 10,000 more patients during the latest doctors' strike compared with last year's industrial action, the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) said. The number of resident doctors who walked during the recent strike was also down by 1,243 - 7.5 per cent, the DHSC said. During the five-day strike in June and July 2024, 61,989 inpatient and outpatient appointments were rescheduled, and 23,001 staff were absent from work due to strikes at the peak of the action. However, the DHSC has claimed that during the most recent dispute, the NHS saw less disruption this time around. NHS chief executive Sir James Mackey noted that care was still disrupted for thousands of people. He said: 'While this is really good news for the vast majority of patients whose treatment went ahead, we should still acknowledge that there were thousands whose care was disrupted. 'NHS staff will continue to work hard to ensure patients can get their rescheduled care as soon as possible, but for those patients – and for all our staff who had to work extra shifts or with different responsibilities – a repeat of this action will be unacceptable. 'So, I would urge the Resident Doctors Committee to get back to the negotiating table and work with us and the Government on the meaningful improvements we can make to resident doctors' working lives.' The full data on cancellations is yet to be released; however, NHS England and the DHSC have released an 'early' analysis. The impact on A&E waiting times is not clear. Health and Social Care Secretary, Wes Streeting, said: 'Due to the dedication of NHS staff and a different operational approach from previous strikes, we have managed to significantly reduce disruption to patients, with early indications showing that 10,000 extra patients are receiving care compared to previous strike action. 'Despite the huge effort made to keep as much planned care as possible going, let's be clear – these damaging strikes still come at a cost to patients, other staff and the NHS.' He added: 'I want to end this unnecessary dispute and I will be urging the BMA to work with the government in good faith in our shared endeavour to improve the working lives of resident doctors, rather than pursuing more reckless strike action.' The DHSC claims the drop in cancellations was due to a change in the NHS's approach, which aimed to maintain planned care rather than cancel it as happened during previous rounds. The government has claimed it maintained 93 per cent of planned appointments, procedures and operations. The claims come as the DHSC faces winter disruption from nurses and other healthcare workers after their unions warned members had rejected the 3.6 per cent pay award given to them for 2025-26. Across the strikes in 2023 and 2024, which also included nurses and ambulance workers, around 1.5 million planned appointments were cancelled across England. Resident doctors, represented by the British Medical Association, staged strike action over a pay dispute in which the union is calling for a 29 per cent pay rise. It says this is to address a 22 per cent decrease in real terms pay since 2008. Following the strikes, the BMA opened a new dispute with the government over specialist training posts, claiming tens of thousands of resident doctors face not having specialist jobs at the end of the summer. The government has repeatedly said it will not move to increase pay. According to the DHSC and NHS England, some trusts managed to maintain more than 90 per cent of planned care, including West Hertfordshire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust which maintained 98 per cent and University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, which maintained 95 per cent. A BMA spokesperson said:'We recognise that for any patient to receive care – urgent or planned – during the period of strike action is of course beneficial for them and we recognise the efforts senior doctors, along with other healthcare workers, will have made to provide that care.' The BMA added: 'Even with NHS England's determination to carry on as if the strikes were not happening, we know that operations will have been postponed, and clinics rescheduled. But all of that could have been avoided if the Health Secretary had been serious in his intent to find a negotiated settlement with us. The strike could have been averted, as could any future ones, if Mr Streeting had come, and will come, to the table with a credible offer that resident doctors in England can accept.'