NHS nurses strike 2022: Liverpool and Merseyside hospitals taking part, why nurses are striking and how patients are affected

In the largest walkout in the history of the NHS, nurses in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland have begun the first phase of strike action. The strikes began early this morning and will also take place on December 20, over a pay dispute and unsafe staffing levels. 

Despite talks to avert the upcoming industrial action, strike action has still gone ahead after no progress was made. Pat Cullen, General Secretary of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN), met with the Health Secretary on Monday (December 12) but said Steve Barclay had “refused” to discuss pay.

The union boss said: “I needed to come out of this meeting with something serious to show nurses why they should not strike this week. Regrettably, they are not getting an extra penny.”

The RCN is calling for a pay rise of 19.2% but ministers have deemed this amount unaffordable. A spokesperson for the Department of Health said the health secretary had told Ms Cullen that any further pay increase would mean taking money away from frontline services and tackling the post-pandemic backlog.

A large number of hospital trusts across Merseyside voted for strike action. However, in the Liverpool City Region, Southport and Ormskirk Hospital NHS Trust and Warrington and Halton Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust did not get enough votes to join the strike action.

According to the RCN these are the hospitals participating in strike action in December:

Hospitals affected by strike action on December 15

• Aintree Hospital: 07:30 - 19:30
• Alder Hey Children’s Hospital: 08:00 - 20:00
• Ashworth Hospital: 07:00 - 20:00
• Broadgreen Hospital: 07:30 - 19:30
• Clatterbridge Cancer Centre (Liverpool): 08:00 - 20:00
• Liverpool Women’s Hospital: 07:00 - 19:00
• Liverpool Heart & Chest Hospital: 07:00 - 19:00
• Old Swan Walk-in Centre: 07:00 -20:00
• Royal Liverpool Hospital: 07:30 - 19:30
• The Walton Centre: 07:30 - 19:30

People across Merseyside have joined picket lines to show support for local nurses.

Hospitals affected by strike action on December 20

• Aintree Hospital: 07:30 - 19:30
• Alder Hey Children’s Hospital: 08:00 - 20:00
• Ashworth Hospital: 07:00 - 20:00
• Broadgreen Hospital: 07:30 - 19:30
• Clatterbridge Cancer Centre (Liverpool: 08:00 - 20:00
• Liverpool Women’s Hospital: 07:00 - 19:00
• Liverpool Heart & Chest Hospital: 07:00 - 19:00
• Old Swan Walk-in Centre: 07:00 - 20:00
• Royal Liverpool Hospital: 07:30 - 19:30
• The Walton Centre: 07:30 - 19:30

What will happen during the strikes?

The RCN is required by trade union statutes to provide life-sustaining care throughout the strikes. This means, some urgent cancer services, urgent tests and scans, and continuous care for vulnerable patients will be preserved alongside A&E and critical care, however exact staffing numbers on strike days will be negotiated by local health bosses and union leaders.

The walkout, however, appears very certain to add to the backlog in non-urgent medical treatment as a record seven million people are already on the waiting list in England. GP services, however, will be unaffected because nurses working in practices were not eligible to vote.

Why are nurses going on strike?

The strike action stems from what RCN has called an “exploitation of nursing staff (that) cannot be tolerated any longer” as the pay of some experienced nurses has fallen by 20% in real terms since Conservatives took power in 2010. They had called for a pay award of 5% plus inflation – a total of about 15%, however, received a rise of just 4% in March 2022.

They RCN is now calling for a pay rise of 19.2%, due to the rate of inflation and cost of living crisis.

Steve Barclay, the Health Secretary for England, said that the RCN’s demands were unaffordable and expressed his "deep regret" that union members would be protesting. He emphasised that in making its award, the government had complied with the independent NHS Pay Review Body’s recommendations. Additionally, despite a public sector pay freeze, it came after a 3% salary increase given last year in acknowledgment of efforts done during the pandemic.

Full list of hospital trusts in Liverpool City Region that voted for strike action:

• Alder Hey Childrens NHS Foundation Trust
• Bridgewater Community Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust
• Cheshire and Wirral Partnership NHS Foundation Trust
• Liverpool Heart and Chest Hospital NHS Found Trust
• Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
• Liverpool Womens NHS Foundation Trust
• Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust
• NHS Cheshire and Merseyside ICB
• North West Ambulance Service NHS Trust
• St Helens and Knowsley Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust
• The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre NHS Found Trust
• The Walton Centre NHS Foundation Trust
• Wirral Community Health and Care NHS Foundation Trust
• Wirral University Teaching Hospital NHS Found Trust