Historic nurse strike confirmed across UK for December
For the first time in 106 years, members of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) will walk out in a UK-wide strike. Nurses and nursing staff in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland will take industrial action on December 15 and 20, following a successful ballot in favour of striking.
Nurses Set to Stage Largest Ever UK Walkout
The strike will affect half of the locations where legal strike mandates were achieved in England, every NHS employer except one in Wales, and all NHS employers in Northern Ireland. This comes amid ongoing disputes over pay and working conditions.
Where Nurses Will Strike – Full NHS List
The industrial action will hit major NHS trusts and health boards across the country. Here’s a knockout list of key strike locations:
- England – East Midlands: Kettering General, Nottingham University Hospitals, Northamptonshire Healthcare and more
- England – Eastern: Cambridge University Hospital, Hertfordshire Community NHS Trust, Royal Papworth Hospital
- London: Great Ormond Street, Guy’s and St Thomas’, Imperial College Healthcare, Royal Marsden
- North West: Alder Hey Children’s, Liverpool University Hospitals, The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre, Walton Centre
- Northern England: Gateshead Health, Northumbria Healthcare, Newcastle Upon Tyne Hospitals
- South East: Oxford University Hospitals, Royal Berkshire
- South West: bristol/" title="Bristol" data-wpil-keyword-link="linked">Bristol and Weston, Royal Devon University Healthcare, Gloucestershire Hospitals, North Bristol NHS Trust
- West Midlands: Birmingham Women’s and Children’s, Royal Orthopaedic Hospital, Worcestershire Acute Hospitals, University Hospitals Birmingham
- Yorkshire & Humber: Bradford Teaching Hospitals, Leeds Teaching Hospitals, Leeds Community Healthcare
- Wales: Cardiff & Vale University Health Board, Welsh Ambulance Services, Swansea Bay University Health Board, Betsi Cadwaladr University, NHS Wales Shared Services
- Northern Ireland: Belfast Health and Social Care Trust, Southern, Western and Northern Health & Social Care Trusts, Northern Ireland Ambulance Service
What This Means for Patients
The walkouts across multiple health trusts are set to place huge strain on NHS services in crucial regions. Hospital trusts will be forced to delay non-urgent procedures, ramp up contingency plans, and prepare for staff shortages.
“This is a significant step for nursing staff to highlight the need for fair pay and working conditions,” said an RCN spokesperson.
The scale and spread of this industrial action underline the serious challenges facing the NHS workforce and the growing unrest within nursing ranks.
Stay tuned for updates as NHS trusts prepare for the upcoming strike on December 15 and 20.
