Nursing Strikes – What Do I Need to Know?

Advice and Information - 12 December 2022

A short guide on the Royal College of Nursing strikes in December 2022

For the first time in its history, members of the Royal College of Nursing will take part in strikes on Thursday 15th December and Tuesday 20th December 2022.

In November, the RCN announced that nursing staff at the majority of NHS employers across the UK had voted to take strike action over pay and patient safety. At the time, RCN General Secretary and Chief Executive, Pat Cullen, said:

"Ministers have had more than two weeks since we confirmed that our members felt such injustice that they would strike for the first time. My offer of formal negotiations was declined and instead ministers have chosen strike action. They have the power and the means to stop this by opening serious talks that address our dispute.

"Nursing staff have had enough of being taken for granted, enough of low pay and unsafe staffing levels, enough of not being able to give our patients the care they deserve."

In the last year, 25,000 nursing staff around the UK left the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) register. There are 47,000 unfilled registered nurse posts in England’s NHS alone.

In an interview with the BBC on 11th December, Cullen said the strike could be called off if the health secretary negotiates "seriously" over pay.

Speaking to Healthwatch Lambeth, a spokesperson for the Royal College of Nursing said:

“No nurse wants to strike but nursing staff have been forced into this situation. Nursing staff are standing up for patients and for the nursing profession. In London alone, there are over 11,300 vacant nurse posts.

“Despite this year's pay award, experienced nurses are worse off by 20% in real terms due to successive below-inflation awards since 2010. Low pay is pushing nursing staff out of the profession and putting patient care at risk. The RCN is calling for a pay rise for nursing staff of 5% above inflation.

“While striking, the RCN and its members will maintain emergency and life preserving care. The RCN will work closely with employers to make sure where staff are needed, they attend work on strike days.”

Hospitals due to be affected in London include:

Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Foundation Trust - 15 December / 20 December
Guys and St Thomas NHS Foundation Trust - 15 December / 20 December
Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust - 15 December / 20 December
NHS North Central London ICB - 15 December / 20 December
Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust - 15 December / 20 December