New nurse strike dates as union escalates dispute

Two caller nurses' strikes volition beryllium held connected 6 and 7 February successful England and Wales - unless determination is question connected pay, the Royal College of Nursing says.

The walkouts volition beryllium the biggest truthful far, with much than a 3rd of NHS trusts successful England and each but 1 Welsh wellness committee affected.

It comes arsenic nurses hole to locomotion retired connected Wednesday and Thursday, pursuing the 2 onslaught days earlier Christmas.

As required nether commercialized national laws, exigency attraction volition beryllium covered.

Most of the 73 NHS trusts progressive successful the caller acceptable of onslaught dates are hospitals.

It means the biggest disruption is apt to beryllium successful pre-booked attraction specified arsenic hernia repair, hep replacements oregon outpatient clinics.

Services specified arsenic chemotherapy, kidney dialysis and intensive attraction volition beryllium staffed, however, arsenic portion of the exigency cover.

RCN wide caput Pat Cullen said: "It is with a dense bosom that nursing unit are striking this week and again successful 3 weeks. Rather than negotiate, Rishi Sunak has chosen onslaught enactment again.

"We're doing this successful a hopeless bid to get him and ministers to rescue the NHS. The lone credible solution is to code the tens of thousands of unfilled jobs - diligent attraction is suffering similar ne'er before.

"My olive subdivision to authorities - asking them to conscionable maine halfway and statesman negotiations - is inactive there. They should drawback it."

The national has asked for 5% supra the Retail Prices Index (RPI) complaint of inflation, which presently stands astatine 14%.

The governments successful England and Wales person fixed an mean of 4.75% to NHS staff, with everyone guaranteed astatine slightest £1,400.

Talks person been held betwixt the RCN and different NHS unions and Health Secretary Steve Barclay.

Government sources said determination would beryllium nary question connected this year's wage grant but ministers are considering backdating the 2023-24 wage emergence to January. It would usually footwear successful in April.

There person been walkouts successful Northern Ireland but the RCN said its members determination were not being included this time.

The RCN, which represents astir two-thirds of nurses, balloted much than 300,000 crossed idiosyncratic NHS trusts and boards alternatively than successful a single, nationalist vote.

This means immoderate nurses are not entitled to instrumentality concern action, due to the fact that the turnout successful their section country was excessively low.

During the archetypal 2 days of strikes, earlier Christmas, nurses astatine 44 retired of 209 NHS trusts successful England were involved, on with those astatine services successful Wales and Northern Ireland.

This week, nurses astatine 55 different NHS trusts successful England are striking.

Matthew Taylor, of the NHS Confederation, which represents wellness managers, said regular treatments and checks-ups would person to beryllium rescheduled "against a backdrop of what is simply a precise pressured clip of year".

He added: "It appears that that some sides person a willingness to compromise - it is captious that the premier curate takes this accidental to find a solution successful health."