Dates for nurses strike confirmed - see list of hospitals affected

Up to 100,000 nursing staff will take part in their biggest ever strike next month in a long-running dispute over pay, it was confirmed today.

Industrial action

Members of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) in England, Wales and Northern Ireland will take industrial action on December 15 and 20 after voting in favour in a ballot.

According to information released earlier this month, nurses at St Helens and Knowsley Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust had voted to support the action.

However, they are not included in a list of hospitals where staff are due to walk out.

A number of hospitals across the North West will be affected however, including Alder Hey Children's Hospital.

Nurses and other nursing staff will take action at half of the locations in England where the legal mandate was reached for strikes, every NHS employer except one in Wales and throughout Northern Ireland.

A separate pay offer has been made in Scotland.

Calls for negotiation

The union has repeated calls on the UK government to accept its request for negotiations to resolve the dispute over pay and patient safety.

RCN general secretary Pat Cullen said: “Ministers have declined my offer of formal pay negotiations and instead chosen strike action.

“It has left us with no choice but to announce where our members will be going on strike in December.

“Nursing is standing up for the profession and their patients. We’ve had enough of being taken for granted and being unable to provide the care patients deserve.

“Ministers still have the power and the means to stop this by opening negotiations that address our dispute.”

RCN statement

The RCN said that despite this year’s pay award of £1,400, experienced nurses are worse off by 20% in real terms due to successive below-inflation awards since 2010.

47,000 Unfilled registered NHS nurse posts in England The RCN is calling for a pay rise of 5% above RPI inflation, saying the economic argument for paying nursing staff fairly is clear when billions of pounds is being spent on agency staff to plug workforce gaps.

The RCN pointed out that in the last year, 25,000 nursing staff around the UK left the Nursing and Midwifery Council register, which explains why there are 47,000 unfilled registered nurse posts in the NHS in England.

Other unions representing health workers including ambulance crews, midwives and hospital cleaners, are also balloting their members on strikes.

We urge the Government to act fast and talk to nurses and union leaders to find a way to avert strikes Saffron Cordery, NHS Providers Interim chief executive of NHS Providers, Saffron Cordery, said: “Nobody wants to see strikes when the NHS is about to experience what may be its hardest ever winter but we understand how strongly nurses feel and why it has come to this.

“We urge the Government to act fast and talk to nurses and union leaders to find a way to avert strikes.

“Trusts up and down the country have been planning for industrial action. Not all of them will be affected directly but those that are will do everything in their power to minimise disruption for patients.

“Trust leaders’ priorities are ensuring the safe delivery of care and supporting the wellbeing of staff who continue to work flat out in the face of below-inflation pay awards, severe staff shortages and ever-increasing workloads.”

Health and Social Care Secretary Steve Barclay said: “I am hugely grateful for the hard work and dedication of nurses and deeply regret some union members will be taking industrial action.

“These are challenging times for everyone and the economic circumstances mean the RCN’s demands, which on current figures are a 19.2% pay rise, costing £10 billion a year, are not affordable.

“We have prioritised the NHS with an extra £6.6 billion, on top of previous record funding, and accepted the recommendations of the independent NHS Pay Review Body to give nurses a fair pay rise of at least £1,400 this year.

“This means a newly qualified nurse will typically earn over £31,000 a year, with more senior nurses earning much more than that, they will also receive a pension contribution worth 20% of their salary.

“Our priority is keeping patients safe. The NHS has tried and tested plans in place to minimise disruption and ensure emergency services continue to operate.”

 

England

East Midlands Kettering General Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

East Midlands NHS Nottingham and Nottinghamshire ICB

East Midlands Northamptonshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust

East Midlands Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust

East Midlands Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust

Eastern Cambridge University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

Eastern Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust

Eastern Cambridgeshire Community Services NHS Trust

Eastern Hertfordshire Community NHS Trust

Eastern NHS Hertfordshire and West Essex ICB

Eastern Royal Papworth Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

London Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Foundation

Trust

London Guys and St Thomas NHS Foundation Trust

London Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust

London NHS North Central London ICB

London Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust

North West Alder Hey Children’s NHS Foundation Trust

North West Health Education England

North West Liverpool Heart and Chest Hospital NHS Found Trust

North West Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

North West Liverpool Women’s NHS Foundation Trust

North West Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust

North West The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre NHS Found Trust

North West The Walton Centre NHS Foundation Trust

Northern Gateshead Health NHS Foundation Trust

Northern Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust

Northern The Newcastle Upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

South East Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust

South East Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

South East Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust

South West Devon Partnership NHS Trust

South West Gloucestershire Health and Care NHS Foundation Trust

South West Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

South West Great Western Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

South West NHS Bath, North East Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire ICB

(BSW Together)

South West NHS Devon ICB (One Devon)

South West NHS Gloucestershire ICB (One Gloucestershire)

South West North Bristol NHS Trust

South West Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust

South West Royal United Hospitals Bath NHS Foundation Trust

South West Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust

South West University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation

Trust

South West University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust

West Midlands Birmingham Women's and Children's NHS Foundation Trust

West Midlands Herefordshire and Worcestershire Health and Care NHS

Trust

West Midlands NHS Birmingham and Solihull ICB (BSol ICB)

West Midlands The Royal Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

West Midlands University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust

West Midlands Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust

Yorkshire & Humber Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Yorkshire & Humber Leeds Community Healthcare NHS Trust

Yorkshire & Humber NHS England

Yorkshire & Humber The Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust

Wales

Wales Cardiff and Vale University Health Board

Wales Powys Teaching Local Health Board

Wales Welsh Ambulance Services NHS Trust Headquarters

Wales Hywel Dda University Health Board

Wales Swansea Bay University Health Board

Wales Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board

Wales Betsi Cadwaladr University Local Health Board

Wales Velindre NHS Trust

Wales Public Health Wales

Wales Health Education and Improvement Wales Health Authority

Wales NHS Wales Shared Services Partnership

Wales Digital Health and Care Wales

Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland Practice and Education Council

Northern Ireland Southern Health and Social Care Trust

Northern Ireland Western Health and Social Care Trust

Northern Ireland Belfast Health and Social Care Trust

Northern Ireland Business Services Organisation

Northern Ireland Regulation & Quality Improvement Authority

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland Blood Transfusion Service

Northern Ireland Public Health Agency

Northern Ireland Northern Health and Social Care Trust

Northern Ireland South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland Ambulance Service