Nurses are staging a second walkout in four London hospitals in a row over pay as a series of strikes hits the UK in the run-up to Christmas.
Around a quarter of hospitals and community teams in England are taking part in the strike, alongside all trusts in Northern Ireland and all but one health board in Wales.
In London, strike action is underway at Guys’ and St Thomas’ NHS Trust, Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Foundation Trust, Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust and the North Central London Integrated Care Board.
The strikes last week saw around 1,400 procedures and operations cancelled. Imperial College Trust warned patients that their treatment may take six weeks to reschedule.
Several London trusts that have not yet participated in strike action, such as St George’s and Kings College, are expected to do so next month if ministers do not begin pay negotiations with nurses.
The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) and the Government are locked in a bitter dispute over pay, with ministers saying the salary rise demanded by unions is unaffordable.
Speaking early on Tuesday, Health Minister Will Quince refused to budge on the Government’s stance on pay and urged the unions to ensure “patient safety is a priority”.
During Tuesday’s strike, the NHS will be running a bank holiday-style service in many areas as thousands of operations and procedures are cancelled and rescheduled.
The RCN has said it will still staff chemotherapy, emergency cancer services, dialysis, critical care units, neonatal and paediatric intensive care. Some areas of mental health and learning disability and autism services are also exempt.
On Wednesday, ambulance workers, including paramedics, control room workers and technicians, from GMB, Unite and Unison unions will walk out in England and Wales.
The London Ambulance Service has warned that Londoners are unlikely to get an ambulance” during the action unless their condition is life-threatening.
Category 1 incidents, such as cardiac arrests and the other most serious cases, are expected to be responded to by ambulance crews across England.
But there is a lack of clarity at the moment over whether Category 2, which includes some heart attacks and strokes, will get an ambulance response in the capital and some other region.
Mr Quince told GB News: “If strikes are to go ahead, then it’s important that patient safety is the priority for the unions as it is for the Government.
“That has got to be ensuring that the most serious call-outs for ambulances, so Cat 1 and Cat 2 for example, are covered on strike day.”
The RCN have claimed the Government’s current offer of a 4 per cent pay rise is insufficient to cope with the rising cost of living. GMB, Unite and Unison have not made a specific pay demand.
But Health Secretary Steve Barclay has repeatedly said the Government is sticking to the recommendations of the independent pay review body, which recommended nurses get a pay rise of around £1,400.
RCN chief executive Pat Cullen on Tuesday suggested she would be willing to negotiate the union's demand for a 19 per cent pay rise, saying she would "not dig in" on the figure if the Government came to the table.
She told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: “I've said time and time again, let's get into a room and have talks about where we go with this. I won't dig in if they don't dig in.
"I want negotiations and I won't be found wanting. That is my message to the Government.
"We want this resolved before Christmas, so it is incumbent upon the Prime Minister to make sure this happens. We would negotiate with ministers... but we have had no opportunity to do that.”
She added: “For every patient that has their care disrupted, we are truly sorry... Any disruption to a health service that's as fragile as ours is something the Government needs to look at.
"Rather than talking to nursing staff through the safety of the media, the Prime Minister needs to meet with me.
"Nurses don't want to be taking strike action, they want to be providing care for their patients".
Mr Barclay said: “The RCN’s demands are unaffordable during these challenging times and would take money away from frontline services while they are still recovering from the impact of the pandemic. I’m open to engaging with the unions on how to make the NHS a better place to work.”
Mr Barclay will meet unions representing striking ambulance drivers in 11th hour talks on Tuesday, although the discussions are unlikely to avert the action.
During Wednesday’s ambulance strike, the military will not drive ambulances on blue lights for the most serious calls but are expected to provide support on less serious calls.
Members of the GMB are set to stage a second ambulance worker walkout on December 28.
Meanwhile, rail workers are preparing to continue their strikes, with a walkout planned for Christmas Eve.
