Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Wales Online
Wales Online
National
Sophie Huskisson & Matt Jackson

Nurses to strike on two more dates next month

Nurses are set to walk out on two more dates next month. The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) has announced members at 73 NHS trusts across England and Wales will strike on February 6 and 7.

Walkouts will take place at bigger hospitals than before, reports The Mirror. Previous strikes saw nurses from 55 hospitals taking industrial action.

Pat Cullen, the union's general secretary, said: “It is with a heavy heart that nursing staff are striking this week and again in three weeks. Rather than negotiate, Rishi Sunak has chosen strike action again.

“We are doing this in a desperate bid to get him and ministers to rescue the NHS. The only credible solution is to address the tens of thousands of unfilled jobs – patient care is suffering like never before.

“My olive branch to government – asking them to meet me halfway and begin negotiations – is still there. They should grab it.”

Industrial action will be held for 12 hours on both February 6 and 7 in England and Wales. Strikes are set to take place on Wednesday and Thursday this week.

The RCN union staged its first nationwide strikes in its 106-year history in December in an ongoing dispute over pay and working conditions. The union previously demanded a 19% pay rise but earlier this month Ms Cullen said nurses could be ready to accept a 10% increase if ministers finally open pay talks.

Members of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) on a picket line outside St Thomas' Hospital in central London (PA)

The RCN says low pay is pushing nursing staff out of the profession and contributing to record vacancies. The new strike dates in February coincide with the tenth anniversary of the Robert Francis inquiry, which identified nurse staffing as an essential factor in patient safety and mortality rates.

NHS Providers interim chief Saffron Cordery said: “The announcement of two further nurse strike dates on consecutive days across more locations next month is very worrying.

“We’ve seen how disruptive these strikes can be, and more extensive industrial action is likely to have an even greater impact. Nobody wants this to continue happening.

“There are three weeks between now and these newly announced dates in February. This is more than enough time for the government and the unions to open negotiations on pay for 2022-23 and avert more strikes.”

The Prime Minister's spokesman said: "We would continue to urge unions to step back from strike action which will have an impact on patient care. We know that in the first round of strikes, 11,000 appointments were cancelled so it's inevitable this on a larger scale will have a larger impact.

"That is hugely regrettable at a time when the health service is under significant pressure.

"We feel there have been constructive talks with the unions and want those to continue rather than unions taking to the picket lines."

WALES

Cardiff and Vale University Health Board

Powys Teaching Local Health Board

Welsh Ambulance Services NHS Trust Headquarters

Hywel Dda University Health Board

Swansea Bay University Health Board

Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board

Betsi Cadwaladr University Local Health Board

Velindre NHS Trust

Public Health Wales

Health Education and Improvement Wales Health Authority

NHS Wales Shared Services Partnership

Digital Health and Care Wales

ENGLAND

North West

Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Wrightington Wigan and Leigh NHS Foundation Trust

Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Mid Cheshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Wirral University Teaching Hospital NHS Found Trust

St Helens and Knowsley Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust

Tameside and Glossop Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust

North West Ambulance Service NHS Trust

Liverpool Heart and Chest Hospital NHS Found Trust

The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre NHS Found Trust

The Christie NHS Foundation Trust

Liverpool Women’s NHS Foundation Trust

Alder Hey Children’s NHS Foundation Trust

The Walton Centre NHS Foundation Trust

Northern

University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust

The Newcastle Upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust

County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust

Gateshead Health NHS Foundation Trust

North East Ambulance Service NHS Trust

Yorkshire & The Humber

Barnsley Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

York and Scarborough Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust

The Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust

Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Sheffield Children’s NHS Foundation Trust

West Midlands

Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust

University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust

The Royal Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

Birmingham Women's and Children's NHS Foundation Trust

Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

East Midlands

Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust

Kettering General Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

East Midlands Ambulance Service NHS Trust

London

Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust

Guys and St Thomas NHS Foundation Trust

Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Foundation Trust

St George's University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Kings College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust

South East

University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust

Queen Victoria Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust

University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust

Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust

Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust

East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust

South East Coast Ambulance Service

South Central Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust

South West

Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust

University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust

Dorset County Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust

Great Western Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Salisbury NHS Foundation Trust

University Hospitals Dorset NHS Foundation Trust

Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust

Royal United Hospitals Bath NHS Foundation Trust

North Bristol NHS Trust

Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust

Somerset NHS Foundation Trust

South Western Ambulance Service NHS Found Trust

Eastern

Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Cambridge University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

West Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust

East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust

Royal Papworth Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.