NHS nurses will strike in the first UK-wide action to ever take place, with walkouts likely to happen before the end of the year.
After the Royal College of Nurses (RCN) balloted around 300,000 of its members on a localised basis, nurses from 176 out of 219 NHS trusts have voted to strike.
RCN boss, Pat Cullen, said urgent and emergency care would still be provided during the strikes, with intensive care units set to remain fully staffed, whilst cancer care and other services are likely to be given some protection.
She added that the strike is “as much for patients as it is for nurses,” amid concerns that NHS treatment waiting lists now include over 7mln people, whilst hospitals are also short staffed, with 47,000 nursing positions currently vacant in England.
RCN had called for a pay rise of 5% above RPI inflation, which currently sits above 10%, for nurses, but no government offers met this.
The union also published a report in late October, showing that nurses’ pay has fallen 20% in real terms since 2010, equal to one day of unpaid work per week.
Health secretary, Steve Barclay tweeted: “It is disappointing some RCN members voted for industrial action."
On the government not meeting the RCN's requested pay rise, he said: “Union demands for a 17.6% pay settlement are around three times what millions of people outside the public sector will typically receive.”