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When is the nurse strikes and which NHS Trusts are affected?

A nurse with a Royal College of Nursing placard. (PA)
A nurse with a Royal College of Nursing placard. (PA)

The biggest nurse strike in a generation is expected to take place after thousands of healthcare workers voted for industrial action earlier this week.

Unions led by the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) are protesting over a pay award earlier this year of £1,400 for most NHS workers, with the RCN calling for a 15% pay rise.

The government and hospital trusts have said they will try and keep the NHS functioning but health experts have warned critical appointments will have to be cancelled.

It is expected around half of the hospital trusts in England, all the trusts in Scotland and Northern Ireland and all but one in Wales will be impacted.

When is the nurse strike?

Although no date has been set yet for the strike, it is believed it will happen before the end of the year.

The RCN's mandate for strike action runs until to May, six months after the ballot.

What was on the ballot?

The core issue is pay. The RCN claims nurses have had a 20% real terms pay cut since 2010 due to years of below-inflation pay rises.

Around half of England NHS Trusts will be impacted by the strike. (PA)
Around half of England NHS Trusts will be impacted by the strike. (PA)

Read more: Thousands of operations will be cancelled if nurse strike goes ahead

They say the recent 5% pay rise offered by the government equates to a pay cut with inflation above 10%.

They are calling for a 5% above-inflation pay rise, which would be around 15%.

What has the royal college of nursing said?

RCN General Secretary & Chief Executive Pat Cullen said the vote was a "defining moment in our history."

She said: "Anger has become action – our members are saying enough is enough. The voice of nursing in the UK is strong and I will make sure it is heard. Our members will no longer tolerate a financial knife-edge at home and a raw deal at work."

She called on the forthcoming fiscal statement from the government to be used to address nurses' anger.

They also said the public backed the industrial action.

What happens next?

The government is keen to prevent strikes and both sides claim they want to talk but neither seems keen to give ground.

Health Secretary Steve Barclay said he held "cordial" talks with union leaders on Thursday.

But it is understood the talks were more focused on patient safety during the strikes rather than averting them all together.

The government is likely to keep trying to call off the strike in the coming weeks, while the RCN will settle on a date for the industrial action.

Which NHS trusts are striking?

All NHS trusts in Scotland and Northern Ireland are taking part, and only the Aneurin Bevan Health Board covering the counties around Newport and Cwmbran will not take part in Wales.

Nurses are demanding more pay. (PA)
Nurses are demanding more pay. (PA)

In England around half of health trusts are taking part.

In order for a strike to be approved more than 50% of members need to take part in the ballot, and the RCN claims this is the reason large numbers of trusts in England are not taking part.

London

  • Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust

  • Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust

  • Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Foundation Trust

  • Hounslow and Richmond Community Healthcare NHS Trust

  • St George’s University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

  • Kings College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

  • Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust

  • Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust

  • University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

  • NHS North Central London ICB

  • NHS South West London ICB

  • NHS Resolution

South East

  • Kent Community Health NHS Foundation Trust

  • East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust

  • University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust

  • South East Coast Ambulance Service

  • Sussex Community NHS Foundation Trust

  • Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust

  • Queen Victoria Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

  • NHS Kent and Medway ICB

  • NHS Surrey Heartlands ICB

  • Southern Health NHS Foundation 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

South West

  • Cornwall Partnership NHS Foundation Trust

  • Devon Partnership NHS Trust

  • South Western Ambulance Service NHS Found Trust

  • Dorset Healthcare University NHS Foundation Trust

  • Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

  • North Bristol NHS Trust

  • Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust

  • University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust

  • University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust

  • Dorset County Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

  • NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT)

  • Gloucestershire Health and Care NHS Foundation Trust

  • Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust

  • Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust

  • Great Western Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

  • Salisbury NHS Foundation Trust

  • University Hospitals Dorset NHS Foundation Trust

  • Somerset NHS Foundation Trust

  • Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust

  • Royal United Hospitals Bath NHS Foundation Trust

  • NHS Bath, North East Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire ICB (BSW Together)

  • NHS Devon ICB (One Devon)

  • NHS Dorset ICB (Our Dorset)

  • NHS Gloucestershire ICB (One Gloucestershire)

West Midlands

  • Midlands Partnership NHS Foundation Trust

  • Herefordshire and Worcestershire Health and Care NHS Trust

  • The Royal Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

  • Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust

  • Shropshire Community Health NHS Trust

  • University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust

  • Birmingham Women’s and Children’s NHS Foundation Trust

  • Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

  • Dudley Integrated Health and Care NHS Trust

  • NHS Birmingham and Solihull ICB (BSol ICB)

  • NHS Black Country ICB

East Midlands

  • East Midlands Ambulance Service NHS Trust

  • NHS Derby and Derbyshire ICB (Joined Up Care Derbyshire)

  • NHS Nottingham and Nottinghamshire ICB

  • Derbyshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust

  • Northamptonshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust

  • Derbyshire Community Health Services NHS Foundation Trust

  • Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust

  • Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust

  • Kettering General Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

Eastern

  • Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust

  • 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

  • Norfolk Community Health and Care NHS Trust

  • Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust

  • Cambridgeshire Community Services NHS Trust

  • Hertfordshire Community NHS Trust

  • West Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust

  • NHS Hertfordshire and West Essex ICB

  • NHS Mid and South Essex ICB

  • NHS Norfolk and Waveney ICB

  • NHS Suffolk and North East Essex ICB

Northern

  • North East Ambulance Service NHS Trust

  • University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust

  • Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust

  • County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust

  • Gateshead Health NHS Foundation Trust

  • The Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

  • South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

  • North of England CSU (NECS)

North West

  • Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust

  • Tameside and Glossop Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust

  • Liverpool Heart and Chest Hospital NHS Found Trust

  • Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

  • The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre NHS Found Trust

  • The Christie NHS Foundation Trust

  • Wrightington Wigan and Leigh NHS Foundation Trust

  • Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

  • North West Ambulance Service NHS Trust

  • Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

  • Mid Cheshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

  • Bridgewater Community Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust

  • Wirral Community Health and Care NHS Foundation Trust

  • Midlands and Lancashire CSU

  • Wirral University Teaching Hospital NHS Found Trust

  • Liverpool Women’s NHS Foundation Trust

  • Central Cheshire Integrated Care Partnership

  • St Helens and Knowsley Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust

  • Alder Hey Children’s NHS Foundation Trust

  • The Walton Centre NHS Foundation Trust

  • Health Education England

  • NHS Cheshire and Merseyside ICB

  • NHS Lancashire and South Cumbria ICB

  • Cheshire and Wirral Partnership NHS Foundation Trust

Yorkshire and the Humber

  • Sheffield Health and Social Care NHS Foundation Trust

  • Barnsley Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

  • York and Scarborough Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

  • Leeds Community Healthcare NHS Trust

  • Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

  • Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust

  • The Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust

  • NHS England

  • Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

  • Sheffield Children’s NHS Foundation Trust

  • NHS West Yorkshire ICB