Nurses' strikes could continue till Christmas, warns RCN union leader

Nurses volition "absolutely not" intermission a 48-hour onslaught successful England implicit the archetypal May slope holiday, says the Royal College of Nursing - and it warns enactment could proceed until Christmas

Leader Pat Cullen told BBC One's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg the authorities needs to enactment much wealth connected the table.

But she had "no plans" to co-ordinate strikes with those by inferior doctors.

Conservative enactment president Greg Hands said the government's wage connection was "fair and reasonable".

Asked whether it is was a last offer, helium said the authorities needed to hold to spot what different heath work unions progressive successful the wage quality decided successful their ain ballots - and pointed retired that it has already been accepted by members of Unison.

Shadow wellness caput Wes Streeting said helium was "really worried" astir the onslaught enactment by nurses and helium was not successful enactment of it due to the fact that of the risks to patients' safety.

The onslaught volition impact NHS nurses successful exigency departments, intensive care, crab and different wards, which would beryllium a archetypal arsenic the erstwhile nurses' onslaught successful February included exemptions to support staffing successful captious areas.

It was called aft RCN members voted by 54% to 46% to cull the government's connection of a 5% emergence successful 2023/24 and a one-payment of astatine slightest £1,655.

Ms Cullen said that aft the walkout from 20:00 BST connected 30 April to 20:00 connected 2 May, the national would "move instantly to ballot our members" connected their adjacent move.

"If that ballot is palmy it volition mean further onslaught enactment close up until Christmas," she added.