NHS nurses strike 2023: Liverpool and Merseyside hospitals taking part, why nurses are striking and how patients are affected

The Royal College of Nursing will ramp up strike action this week as even more NHS Trusts take part.
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Despite talks to attempt to avert further industrial action by NHS nurses and staff over pay and working conditions, strike action will continue this week, as no progress has been made.

Royal College of Nursing General Secretary and Chief Executive, Pat Cullen, said: “The Government had the opportunity to end this dispute before Christmas but instead they have chosen to push nursing staff out into the cold again in January. I do not wish to prolong this dispute but the Prime Minister has left us with no choice.”

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Earlier this week, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said he hoped to ‘find a way through’ with unions to avoid further strikes. However, the current stance from the government is that the RCN’s demands ‘are unaffordable’ and that pay rises are decided by independent pay review bodies.

The next phase of strike action will take place on Wednesday January 18 and Thursday January 19, at 25% more NHS employers in England than in December – increasing from 44 to 55 trusts. The RCN have also said even more nurses will strike in February, should progress on pay negotiations fail to be made by the end of this month.

The RCN have asked for a pay increase of 5% above inflation, which at the top rate would have equated to a 19% rise. Some reports have suggested that the union would accept a 10% increase.

Across Merseyside, a large number of trusts 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.

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Hospitals across Liverpool took part in strike action in December, however, walk-outs this week will mainly affect other parts of Merseyside, including Wirral.

Merseyside hospital trusts affected by strike action on January 18 and 19

  • 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
  • Cheshire and Wirral Partnership NHS Foundation Trust

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 have been negotiated by local health bosses and union leaders.

Nurses on strike at the Ulster Hospital during the last walkout two years agoNurses on strike at the Ulster Hospital during the last walkout two years ago
Nurses on strike at the Ulster Hospital during the last walkout two years ago

GP services, however, will be unaffected because nurses working in practices were not eligible to vote.

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