Nurses in the North East have begun a second day’s strike action in a row over pay and conditions.
Thousands of NHS nurses have walked out for on strike across England in an ongoing dispute over pay, with ministers saying the salary rise demanded by unions is unaffordable.
The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) has been calling for a pay rise of 5% above inflation, though it has indicated it would accept a lower offer.
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Nurses at hospital trusts in Newcastle, Gateshead and Northumberland formed picket lines on Tuesday (December 20) morning for the second day of strike action in the past week.
Joining nurses on the picket line at the RVI in Newcastle, RCN General Secretary Pat Cullen urged Prime Minister Rishi Sunak ‘to do the decent thing’ for nursing staff.
She said: “I want to say to the Prime Minister this morning, please step in now and do the decent thing on behalf of every patient and member of the public of this country.
“But please do the decent thing also for nursing staff – get round the table and start to talk to me on their behalf.
“That’s the only respectful and decent thing to do, and let’s bring these strikes to a conclusion.”
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The health service will be running a bank holiday-style service in many areas as thousands of operations and procedures are cancelled and rescheduled.
Nurses at health trusts in County Durham, Darlington, Sunderland, and Teesside are not taking part in the industrial action.
It comes as ambulance workers, including paramedics and 999 call handlers, across the entire region will walk out on Wednesday (December 21) as part of a national row over pay.
Ambulance bosses urged the public only to dial 999 for ‘life-threatening’ conditions or injuries amid warnings the service ‘will not be able to respond to all calls of a serious nature’ and that ‘significant delays’ are likely.
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