The Royal College of Nursing today announces further strike action in England and Wales in February following the Government’s refusal to negotiate with the union.
If progress is not made by the end of January, RCN members in England and Wales will strike again for 12 hours on both Monday 6 and Tuesday 7 February 2023.
In England, there will be action at 73 NHS trusts compared to 44 in December and 55 in January.
The RCN will not take action in Northern Ireland on this occasion. In Scotland, strike action remains paused while negotiations continue.
Ahead of February’s action, further strikes are planned in England on Wednesday and Thursday this week. Nursing staff will strike at 55 NHS trusts in England that were not part of December’s first wave of industrial action.
The RCN held its first-ever national strike last month (December).
Today’s announcement to escalate action even further comes after the RCN has repeatedly urged ministers to open negotiations on NHS pay. Its dispute is about the award for this financial year (2022-23).
The value of salaries for experienced nurses today are 20 per cent lower in real terms due to successive below-inflation pay awards since 2010.
The RCN says low pay is pushing nursing staff out of the profession and contributing to record vacancies.
The new strike dates in February coincide with the tenth anniversary of the Robert Francis inquiry and his findings on the impact of nurse shortages on patient mortality.
RCN General Secretary and Chief Executive Pat Cullen said:
“It is with a heavy heart that nursing staff are striking this week and again in three weeks. Rather than negotiate, Rishi Sunak has chosen strike action again.
“We are doing this in a desperate bid to get him and ministers to rescue the NHS. The only credible solution is to address the tens of thousands of unfilled jobs – patient care is suffering like never before.
“My olive branch to government – asking them to meet me halfway and begin negotiations – is still there. They should grab it.”
Ends
Notes to Editors
List of trusts where strike action will take on 6 and 7 February can be found below.
WALES
Cardiff and Vale University Health Board
Powys Teaching Local Health Board
Welsh Ambulance Services NHS Trust Headquarters
Hywel Dda University Health Board
Swansea Bay University Health Board
Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board
Betsi Cadwaladr University Local Health Board
Velindre NHS Trust
Public Health Wales
Health Education and Improvement Wales Health Authority
NHS Wales Shared Services Partnership
Digital Health and Care Wales
ENGLAND
North West
Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Wrightington Wigan and Leigh NHS Foundation Trust
Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Mid Cheshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Wirral University Teaching Hospital NHS Found Trust
St Helens and Knowsley Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust
Tameside and Glossop Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust
North West Ambulance Service NHS Trust
Liverpool Heart and Chest Hospital NHS Found Trust
The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre NHS Found Trust
The Christie NHS Foundation Trust
Liverpool Women’s NHS Foundation Trust
Alder Hey Children’s NHS Foundation Trust
The Walton Centre NHS Foundation Trust
Northern
University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust
The Newcastle Upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust
County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust
Gateshead Health NHS Foundation Trust
North East Ambulance Service NHS Trust
Yorkshire & The Humber
Barnsley Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
York and Scarborough Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust
The Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust
Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Sheffield Children’s NHS Foundation Trust
West Midlands
Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust
University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust
The Royal Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
Birmingham Women's and Children's NHS Foundation Trust
Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
East Midlands
Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust
Kettering General Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
East Midlands Ambulance Service NHS Trust
London
Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust
Guys and St Thomas NHS Foundation Trust
Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Foundation Trust
St George's University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Kings College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust
South East
University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust
Queen Victoria Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust
University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust
Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust
Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust
East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust
South East Coast Ambulance Service
South Central Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust
South West
Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust
University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust
Dorset County Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust
Great Western Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Salisbury NHS Foundation Trust
University Hospitals Dorset NHS Foundation Trust
Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust
Royal United Hospitals Bath NHS Foundation Trust
North Bristol NHS Trust
Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust
Somerset NHS Foundation Trust
South Western Ambulance Service NHS Found Trust
Eastern
Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Cambridge University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
West Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust
East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust
Royal Papworth Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
Researchers at London Economics, commissioned by the RCN, looked at the pay awards that NHS Agenda for Change nursing staff have been given in the UK since 2010. They found that in real terms, the salary of an experienced nurse has fallen by 20% in England, Wales and Northern Ireland and 16% in Scotland.
They also found that the Exchequer would recoup 81% of the initial outlay in terms of higher tax receipts and savings on future recruitment and retention costs. The report can be found here.
