NHS nurses across the country have voted in favour of a national strike in a row over pay.
The Royal College of Nursing has balloted its 300,000 NHS membership for the first time in its 106-year history and huge numbers have voted for strike action.
The national strike will be the first of its kind as the RCN fights to improve pay and conditions and against staff shortages that are making life harder for staff and patients in hospitals all over the country.
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The terms of the ballot meant that each hospital had to achieve a 50% turnout in the vote for strike action to be held. The rules mean the strikes will take place on a trust by trust basis, but the RCN is likely to try and co-ordinate the action for the biggest impact.
The strikes are expected to take place later this year and possibly over Christmas. The action comes after nurses across the UK were offered a £1,400 pay rise by the government - which works out as a real-terms cut amid high inflation.
Nurses at hospital trusts up and down the country have voted to strike, including many in our region and surrounding areas. These include:
Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust
Liverpool Heart and Chest Hospital NHS Found Trust
The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre NHS Found Trust
Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
North West Ambulance Service NHS Trust
Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Wirral Community Health and Care NHS Foundation Trust
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Wirral University Teaching Hospital NHS Found Trust
Liverpool Women’s NHS Foundation Trust
St Helens and Knowsley Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust
Alder Hey Children’s NHS Foundation Trust
The Walton Centre NHS Foundation Trust
NHS Cheshire and Merseyside ICB
Cheshire and Wirral Partnership NHS Foundation Trust
Speaking about the strike action, RCN general secretary Pat Cullen said: "Anger has become action - our members are saying enough is enough." She said nurses had been getting a "raw deal" on pay for years, adding: " "Ministers must look in the mirror and ask how long they will put nursing staff through this."
Ms Cullen said striking members would ensure patients did not come to harm by continuing to provide urgent and emergency care during the strikes. This means services such as intensive care will be fully staffed, while other services, such as cancer care, are also likely to be given a level of protection.
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