Repeated strikes by well being employees are making workloads “more difficult”, the chief govt of NHS England has mentioned.

Amanda Pritchard mentioned the continued strike motion was “clearly having an affect”.

1000’s of nurses throughout England will go on strike on Wednesday and Thursday this week, and round 1,000 ambulance employees in Wales will stroll out on Thursday.

There are expectations that 1000’s of operations and appointments will have to be cancelled over the subsequent few months, however Pritchard expressed hope that the economic motion may very well be resolved.

“Because the strike motion is prolonged over lengthy durations of time, and as these dates begin coming nearer collectively, it does get more difficult, there’s completely little question,” she informed BBC Radio 4’s At present programme on Saturday. “It’s clearly having an affect. I feel that’s apparent.”

She added: “My sense is that everyone is trying to try to attain a decision.”

Well being leaders have mentioned emergency providers are dealing with “alarming ranges of stress” and that extra hospital beds had been “desperately wanted”.

Delayed discharge is one among quite a lot of pressures the NHS is dealing with this winter, together with mattress shortages, a recent wave of Covid-19 infections, the worst flu season for a decade and ongoing strikes.

Monday 6 Februaryis prone to be the most important strike motion the NHS has ever skilled after the Unite union introduced recent ambulance employee walkouts.

1000’s of nurses from the Royal Faculty of Nursing (RCN) had been already scheduled to strike on 6 and seven February, and the GMB union introduced earlier this week that its ambulance employees would be a part of them on 6 February.

On Friday, Unite mentioned employees from 5 ambulance trusts in England and Wales would additionally be a part of the 6 February strike.

Downing Road mentioned the federal government was nonetheless open to facilitating talks with commerce unions, whereas acknowledging that the deliberate walkout would trigger additional “disruption” for sufferers.

Chatting with broadcasters throughout a hospital go to earlier this week, the well being secretary, Steve Barclay, appeared to rule out a ten% pay rise for nurses.

“Nicely, 10% shouldn’t be reasonably priced, it will be an additional £3.6bn a yr and clearly that may take cash away from affected person providers, important providers that we have to spend money on given the backlogs from the pandemic,” he mentioned.

“Now, inside authorities we take a complete authorities strategy – after all I’ve discussions with the Treasury, as do different secretaries of state, and these items have to be balanced not simply with the wants of academics, with the training secretary, or prepare drivers, with the transport secretary, but additionally what’s reasonably priced for [the public] when it comes to their very own cost-of-living pressures.”

He insisted he was working “constructively” with unions however mentioned he was “upset” within the strikes.