NHS nurses braved freezing temperatures and blizzard conditions across Tyneside on Thursday in the first Royal College of Nursing (RCN) strikes in more than a century.
Walkouts took place at Newcastle's Freeman and Royal Victoria Infirmary hospitals, at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Gateshead, the Northumbria Specialist Emergency Care Hospital in Cramlington and North Tyneside and Hexham general hospitals. Hundreds of nurses took to the picket lines as part of the ongoing pay dispute the RCN has with the Government.
Across the region, nurses emphasised that the walk-out was not just about pay - but about ensuring "safe staffing and safe patient care" for those using the NHS. The RCN are calling for a pay rise of 5% above inflation, though it has indicated it would accept a lower offer - the Government offer remains that nurses should get a pay rise of around £1,400.
