Nurses’ walk outs could last until Christmas as union plans ‘mega strike’

National ballot of Royal College of Nursing members could double number of NHS trusts hit by action

Royal College of Nursing (RCN) union leader Pat Cullen has said nurses could strike until Christmas if Rishi Sunak’s government does not back down on pay demands.

It comes as the country’s largest nursing plans to raise the stakes with a “mega strike” that would mean nurses walking out of every NHS hospital trust in England for the first time.

Nurses will strike for 48 hours at the end of April after RCN members rejected the government’s 5 per cent pay rise offer. Staff in emergency departments and cancer wards will take action for the first time.