Nurse strike dates 2023: RCN announces more strikes in January and February - which NHS trusts are affected?

The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) - which is striking today - has confirmed fresh walk outs for February.
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Nurses are to stage two more strikes in February as the bitter pay dispute with the UK government continues.

The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) has said that its members will walk out on 6 and 7 February, coming in addition to January industrial action - which took place yesterday (18 January) and continues today (19 January). Nurses also walked out for two days in December, in the first strike of its kind in NHS history.

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Today’s strikes are taking place at more NHS employers in England than happened in December – increasing from 44 to 55 trusts, said the RCN. In February, nurses at 73 trusts are set to walk out - with some 12 health boards and organisations in Wales also taking part in the two consecutive days of strikes in February.

The RCN said it has repeatedly invited ministers to hold talks on NHS pay. The union is calling for nurses to be awarded a pay rise of 5% above inflation, which is around 19%, but ministers say the salary increase is unaffordable. When the union submitted the 5% figure to the independent pay review body in March, inflation was running at 7.5%, but it has since increased even further, with the current rate over 10%.

The government has implemented the recommendations of the independent pay review body, which gave nurses a rise of about 4.75%, with a guaranteed minimum of £1,400. Nurses say they have suffered real-terms pay cuts for uses as wages have lagged behind inflation.

RCN General Secretary Pat Cullen (second left) with members of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) on the picket line outside St Thomas’ Hospital in London. Credit: PARCN General Secretary Pat Cullen (second left) with members of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) on the picket line outside St Thomas’ Hospital in London. Credit: PA
RCN General Secretary Pat Cullen (second left) with members of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) on the picket line outside St Thomas’ Hospital in London. Credit: PA

RCN chief executive Pat Cullen said of the latest strike announcement: “It is with a heavy heart that nursing staff are striking this week and again in three weeks. Rather than negotiate, (Prime Minister) Rishi Sunak has chosen strike action again. We are doing this in a desperate bid to get him and ministers to rescue the NHS.

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“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.”

Nurses taking strike action yesterday took part in a march on Downing Street as they called on the government to “save the NHS”. Many of them spoke to NationalWorld about why they’re taking industrial action, with working conditions and patient safety coming up as often as pay.

Nurses Mel and Steel, who work in intensive care, joined the NHS march. Nurses Mel and Steel, who work in intensive care, joined the NHS march.
Nurses Mel and Steel, who work in intensive care, joined the NHS march.

Speaking outside Number 10, intensive care nurse Mel said it’s “heartbreaking” to see desperate patients without beds. She told NationalWorld: “It’s a crisis - there simply aren’t enough staff to give proper care to the patients who need it. If things continue like this, we’re going to lose even more of our workforce, which will be a really scary place to be.”

Steel, who works in the same hospital as Mel, added: “We’re doing the work of three or four people, but we’re getting paid for less than one. It’s unfair, it’s unsafe. We’ve been saving lives, but who will save us?”

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Meanwhile, Katerina, who has been a nurse for a decade, said she is striking because unless the government offers a sufficient pay rise, there will be a “mass walkout” with thousands ditching the profession. “We’re being worked to the bone, so I would understand why. But it’s a terrifying prospect as the situation is already dire - we can’t afford to lose any more staff.”

Health Secretary Steve Barclay during a visit to Chelsea and Westminster Hospital in London, as nurses at other hospitals in England, Wales and Northern Ireland take industrial action over payHealth Secretary Steve Barclay during a visit to Chelsea and Westminster Hospital in London, as nurses at other hospitals in England, Wales and Northern Ireland take industrial action over pay
Health Secretary Steve Barclay during a visit to Chelsea and Westminster Hospital in London, as nurses at other hospitals in England, Wales and Northern Ireland take industrial action over pay

Speaking on the fresh strikes, NHS Providers interim chief executive Saffron Cordery said the announcement was “very worrying”. She added: “The health service is already stretched far too thin as trust leaders try to cope with ongoing industrial action alongside other mounting pressures bearing down on the NHS. We’ve seen how disruptive these strikes can be, and more extensive industrial action is likely to have an even greater impact. Nobody wants this to continue happening.

“We understand how frustrated nurses feel, and how they have got into this point: below-inflation pay awards, the cost-of-living crisis, severe staff shortages and increasing workloads have created near-impossible conditions. There are three weeks between now and these newly announced dates in February. This is more than enough time for the Government and the unions to open negotiations on pay for 2022-23 and avert more strikes.”

Health Secretary Steve Barclay previously said he is “disappointed” by further strikes he claims are being co-ordinated to create “maximum disruption” as he urged unions to call them off. While the Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: “Obviously we would continue to urge unions to step back from strike action, which will have an impact on patient care.

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“We know in the first round of strikes 11,000 appointments were cancelled. So it’s inevitable that this, on a larger scale, will have a larger impact and that is hugely regrettable at a time when the health service is under significant pressure. We feel like there have been constructive talks with the unions and we’d want those to continue rather than taking to the picket lines.”

Which NHS trusts will be affected by the nurse strikes?

East Midlands

January

  • NHS Derby and Derbyshire ICB (Joined Up Care Derbyshire)
  • Derbyshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust
  • Derbyshire Community Health Services NHS Foundation Trust

February

  • Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust
  • Kettering General Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
  • East Midlands Ambulance Service NHS Trust

Eastern

January

  • Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
  • East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust
  • Norfolk Community Health and Care NHS Trust
  • Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust
  • West Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust
  • NHS Mid and South Essex ICB
  • NHS Norfolk and Waveney ICB
  • NHS Suffolk and North East Essex ICB

February

  • 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

London

January

  • Hounslow and Richmond Community Healthcare NHS Trust
  • St George's University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
  • Kings College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
  • Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust
  • University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
  • NHS South West London ICB

February

  • 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

North West

January

  • University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust
  • Tameside and Glossop Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust
  • Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
  • The Christie NHS Foundation Trust
  • Wrightington Wigan and Leigh NHS Foundation Trust
  • Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
  • Mid Cheshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
  • Bridgewater Community Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust
  • Wirral Community Health and Care NHS Foundation Trust
  • Wirral University Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
  • NHS Cheshire and Merseyside ICB
  • St Helens and Knowsley Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust
  • NHS Lancashire and South Cumbria ICB
  • Cheshire and Wirral Partnership NHS Foundation Trust

February

  • 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

January

  • County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust
  • South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
  • North of England CSU (NECS)

February

  • 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

South East

January

  • Kent Community Health NHS Foundation Trust
  • East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust
  • University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust
  • 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
  • Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust
  • University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust
  • Solent NHS Trust

February

  • 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

January

  • Cornwall Partnership NHS Foundation Trust
  • Dorset Healthcare University NHS Foundation Trust
  • Dorset County Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
  • Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust
  • Salisbury NHS Foundation Trust
  • University Hospitals Dorset NHS Foundation Trust
  • Somerset NHS Foundation Trust
  • Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust

February

  • 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

West Midlands

January

  • Midlands Partnership NHS Foundation Trust
  • Shropshire Community Health NHS Trust
  • Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
  • Dudley Integrated Health and Care NHS Trust
  • NHS Black Country ICB
  • Midlands and Lancashire CSU

February

  • 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

Yorkshire & Humber

January

  • Sheffield Health and Social Care NHS Foundation Trust
  • Barnsley Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
  • York and Scarborough Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
  • Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust
  • Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
  • Sheffield Childrens NHS Foundation Trust
  • NHS West Yorkshire ICB

February

  • 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

Wales

February

  • 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

National employers

January

  • NHS Resolution
  • NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT)

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