Thousands of nurses across England, Wales and Northern Ireland have begun a 12-hour strike in a bitter dispute over pay.
The strike is the biggest by nurses in the history of the NHS, involving around a quarter of hospitals and community teams in England alongside all trusts in Northern Ireland and all but one health board in Wales.
Health minister Maria Caulfield said around 70,000 appointments, procedures and surgeries will be lost in England due to the strike. Thousands more will be affected in Northern Ireland and Wales.
