Nurses will stage an unprecedented 48-hour strike next month to sharply escalate a bitter dispute with the government over wages and staff.
The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) has for the first time called for strikes by emergency room, intensive care, oncology and other workers who have not previously been on strike.
This will be the largest care strike to date, with over 100 services across England participating. RCN General Secretary Pat Cullen said she called the move “with a heavy heart”. Here’s everything you need to know.
When is the next nurses’ strike?
The strike starts at Wednesday, March 1 at 6:00 and lasts 48 hours, so ends at Friday, March 3, 6 am. Previous strikes were only held during the 12-hour day shift, but this strike continues. The RCN members last left the office on February 6 and 7, and also reactivated in December and January.
Which funds are affected?
Employees from 128 services across England are leaving. Previous RCN strikes have exempted “life-saving” services such as chemotherapy, dialysis, resuscitation, pediatric intensive care, and pediatric emergency care from operation.
In the face of major changes, there will be no “widespread” exemptions this time around, RCN said, adding that it is “working directly to ensure” previously exempted services are “minimized”.
The union expects hospitals to provide such life-saving care by “general staff and other clinical professionals.” This may include nurses who are not members of the RCN, as well as other healthcare professionals. Here is the full list of trusts affected by the strike:
East Midlands
- East Midlands NHS Trust Ambulance Service
- NHS Derby and Derbyshire ICB (Joined Up Care Derbyshire)
- NHS Nottingham and Nottinghamshire ICB
- Derbyshire Health Trust NHS Foundation Trust
- Northamptonshire Health Trust NHS Foundation Trust
- Derbyshire Public Health Service NHS Foundation Trust
- Nottinghamshire Health Trust NHS Foundation Trust
- Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust
- Kettering General Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
East
- NHS Foundation Trust in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough
- Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
- Cambridge University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
- Royal Papworth Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
- East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust
- Public Health and Nursing Norfolk NHS Trust
- Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust
- Cambridgeshire Public Services NHS Trust
- Hertfordshire NHS Community Trust
- West Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust
- NHS Hertfordshire and West Essex ICB
- NHS Central & South Essex ICB
- NHS Norfolk and Waveney ICB
- NHS Suffolk and ICB North East Essex
London
- Imperial College of Health NHS Trust
- Guy’s and St. Thomas NHS Foundation Trust
- Great Ormond Street Children’s Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
- Hounslow and Richmond Public Health NHS Trust
- St. George’s University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
- King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
- Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust
- Tavistock & Portman NHS Foundation Trust
- University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
- NHS North Central London ICB
- NHS South West London ICB
northwest
- Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust
- Tameside and Glossop Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust
- Liverpool NHS Heart and Chest Hospital gains credibility
- Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
- Clatterbridge NHS Cancer Center gains credibility
- Christie NHS Foundation Trust
- Wrightington Wigan and Leigh NHS Foundation Trust
- Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
- North West Ambulance Service NHS Trust
- Middle Cheshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
- Public Health Bridgewater NHS Foundation Trust
- Wirral Community Health and Care NHS Foundation Trust
- Midlands and Lancashire CSU
- NHS Wirral University Teaching Hospital gained credibility
- Liverpool Women’s NHS Foundation Trust
- St. Helens and Knowsley Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust
- Children’s NHS Alder Hey Trust
- Walton Center NHS Foundation
- NHS Cheshire and Merseyside ICB
- NHS Lancashire & South Cumbria ICB
- Cheshire and Wirral Partnership NHS Foundation Trust
North
- North East Ambulance Service NHS Trust
- Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust University Hospitals
- Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust
- County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust
- Gateshead Health NHS Foundation Trust
- Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
- South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
- CSU Northern England (NECS)
Southeast
- Kent Community Health Foundation Trust
- East Sussex Health Care NHS Trust
- University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust
- Southeast Coast Ambulance Service
- Sussex Community NHS Foundation
- Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust
- Queen Victoria Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
- NHS Kent and Medway ICB
- NHS Surrey Heartlands ICB
- NHS Southern Health Fund Trust
- Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
- Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust
- University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust
- South Central Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust
- Solent NHS Trust
- Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust
- Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust
southwest
- Cornish Partnership NHS Foundation Trust
- Devon Partnership NHS Trust
- Southwest NHS Ambulance Service gains credibility
- Dorset Health University NHS Foundation Trust
- Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
- North Bristol NHS Trust
- Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust
- Plymouth University Hospitals NHS Trust
- Bristol University Hospitals and Weston NHS Foundation Trust
- Dorset County Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
- Gloucestershire Health and Care NHS Foundation Trust
- Royal Devon University NHS Foundation Healthcare Trust
- Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust
- Great Western Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
- Salisbury NHS Foundation Trust
- Teaching Hospitals Dorset NHS Foundation Trust
- Somerset NHS Foundation Trust
- Royal Hospitals of Cornwall NHS Trust
- Royal United Hospitals Bath NHS Foundation Trust
- Bath NHS, North East Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire ICB (combined BSW)
- NHS Devon ICB (Devon)
- NHS Dorset ICB (Our Dorset)
- NHS Gloucestershire ICB (one Gloucestershire)
western middle earth
- Midlands Partnership NHS Foundation Trust
- Herefordshire and Worcestershire NHS Health and Care Trust
- Royal Orthopedic Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
- Worcestershire Emergency Hospitals NHS Trust
- Shropshire Public Health NHS Trust
- Birmingham Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
- Birmingham Women’s and Children’s NHS Foundation Trust
- Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopedic Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
- Dudley Integrated Health and Care NHS Trust
- NHS Birmingham and Solihull ICB (BSol ICB)
- NHS Black Country ICB
Yorkshire and the Humber
- Sheffield Health and Welfare Trust NHS Foundation Trust
- Barnsley Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
- York and Scarborough Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
- Leeds Public Health NHS Trust
- Bradford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
- Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust
- Leeds University Hospitals NHS Trust
- Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
- NHS Sheffield Children’s Fund Trust
- NHS West Yorkshire ICB
National employers
- Health education in England
- Blood and Transplant NHS (NHSBT)
- National Health Service England
- NHS resolution
Why are the nurses on strike?
The average NHS nurse wage has fallen 8% in real terms since 2010. The RCN, which has more than 400,000 members, is demanding a 19% pay increase — 5% above price inflation (RPI) — compared to the government’s 4% to 5% offer for most nurses.
However, Ms Cullen said union action would be halted if government ministers agreed to discuss the Welsh Government’s 7 per cent offer, which brought strikes to a halt.
The RCN General Secretary said: “It is with a heavy heart that I have asked more nurses today to join this argument. Not only will these strikes last longer and involve more people, they will not leave any part of the NHS unaffected. Neither the patients nor the medical staff wanted this.
“By refusing to negotiate with nurses, the prime minister is pushing more people to strike. He needs to listen to NHS leaders and not let this continue. I will do my best to ensure the safety of patients.
“Originally, we asked thousands to continue working during the strike, but it is understood that this only prolongs the dispute. This action should not be in vain – the prime minister should give them an answer.”
Sir Julian Hartley, CEO of NHS Providers, said: “This is the most alarming strike escalation. With over 140,000 appointments already put on hold due to strikes, this is a step no one wants to take.
“A disorderly 48-hour strike in emergency rooms, intensive care units or oncology units will be a huge blow, especially since more trusts will be affected this time.
“With more paramedic strikes planned for the coming days and weeks and the likely loss of young doctors, trust leaders are now in an almost impossible position. They are deeply concerned that the escalation could hinder their efforts to close supply gaps and jeopardize the continuity of assistance for some of them.
“If left unresolved, this ongoing dispute could cause serious and long-term damage to the National Health Service. We understand that with issues such as the high cost of living, staff shortages and sub-inflation wage growth, frontline workers feel they have no choice but to make this decision.
“Trust leaders will work very hard to ensure the safety of patients and the provision of essential services, but there is very little they can do on their own. The government urgently needs to discuss wages with unions this fiscal year.”
Health Minister Steve Barclay said: “The failure to provide coverage for essential services such as cancer treatment during the strikes is a major escalation by the Royal College of Nursing, putting patient safety at risk.
“We are working closely with NHS England on contingency plans, but this action will inevitably result in further disruption for patients.
“I’ve had a number of discussions with unions, including the RCN, about what’s going to be fair and affordable for the coming year, as well as broader concerns about conditions and workload.”
Source: I News
I’m Raymond Molina, a professional writer and journalist with over 5 years of experience in the media industry. I currently work for 24 News Reporters, where I write for the health section of their news website. In my role, I am responsible for researching and writing stories on current health trends and issues. My articles are often seen as thought-provoking pieces that provide valuable insight into the state of society’s wellbeing.