The RCN has announced where the strikes on 15 and 20 December will take place, and revealed that more employers will join in strike action in January unless negotiations are held.
Up to 100,000 nursing staff will take part in strike action across England, Northern Ireland, and Wales, the RCN said. No strikes will take place in Scotland after the RCN postponed strike action following a new pay deal from the Scottish Government.
There will be strike action in every NHS employer in Northern Ireland, all bar one in Wales, and in over half of the locations in England where the legal mandate for strikes were secured in November.
The RCN has said that strikes in other locations where the legal mandate was met will take place in January, unless negotiations are held.
RCN general secretary Pat Cullen repeated her call for the Government to enter into negotiations with the union, saying: ‘Ministers still have the power and the means to stop this by opening negotiations that address our dispute.’
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Ms Cullen added: ‘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.’
The RCN is currently calling for a pay rise of 5% above Retail Pirce Index (RPI) inflation, which would currently equate to a 19.2% pay rise, as RPI stands at 14.2%. The previous offer from the Government was an average raise of 4%, well below current levels of inflation.
In the last year, around 25,000 nursing staff around the UK left the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) register. There are also around 47,000 unfilled registered NHS nursing posts in England alone, and the RCN claims that poor play is a key factor.
Health and social care secretary Steve Barclay said: ‘These are challenging times for everyone and the economic circumstances mean the RCN’s demands, costing £10bn a year, are not affordable.
‘We have prioritised the NHS with an extra £6.6bn, 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.
‘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.’
Related Article: Consultation launched on long term conditions framework for Scotland
The locations affected by strike action
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
Related Article: Nurse fatigue should be recognised as serious risk to patient safety
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
