Nurses will go on strike on two days next month as part of a major escalation in a dispute over pay, the nursing union has announced.
NHS nurses will walk out in dozens of trusts on December 15 and 20, the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) confirmed on Friday.
The first walkout will come just a day after the RMT union stages a strike on Britain’s railways on December 14.
In a statement, the RCN claimed that ministers had turned down their offer of formal, detailed negotiations as an alternative to industrial action.