London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Friday, Sep 12, 2025

Nurses allowed to cover intensive care amid latest NHS strike

Nurses allowed to cover intensive care amid latest NHS strike

Rescheduled appointments due to strike action are set to hit half a million next week, the NHS warned

Nurses will be allowed to provide cover for intensive care units after Union bosses agreed to derogations just before thousands walked out for the biggest-ever strikes to hit the NHS.

The 28-hour strike over pay began at 8pm on Sunday night triggering warnings of “exceptionally low” staffing levels until the walkout ends on Monday at midnight.

Royal College of Nursing (RCN) general secretary Pat Cullen said on Sunday that measures were in place to keep patients safe after concerns were raised on the impact of the strike action on emergency services.

The union initially said it would not agree to derogations – broad areas of care where staffing is guaranteed despite industrial action – but granted some exemptions on Friday in an apparent U-turn.

Royal College of Nursing general secretary Pat Cullen joins members on the picket line


Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) is among organisations where nurses have agreed to derogations after it voiced “serious concerns” about patient safety during the walkout.

Bosses at the world famous children’s hospital said they were “incredibly grateful” to RCN members for offering assurances but took the decision not to stand down a “business continuity incident” until it was confident it could staff services during the strike.

Health Secretary Steve Barclay blasted the strikes as “premature” and “disrespectful” to other unions as they come before a crunch meeting on Tuesday to discuss a 5 per cent pay offer.

It came as NHS England warned that staffing levels in some areas of the country will be “exceptionally low, lower than on previous strike days”.

It added the number of rescheduled appointments due to strike action is set to hit half a million next week.

General secretary of the Royal College of Nursing Pat Cullen speaks to media outside BBC Broadcasting House in London


RCN’s Pat Cullen said: “After a three-month pause, strike action by nursing staff regrettably recommences tonight.

“The government wants to bring NHS strike action to a close this coming week but with several big unions - and nursing as the largest part of the NHS workforce - still in dispute, it has to do better.

“Only negotiations can resolve this and I urge ministers to reopen formal discussions with the College over pay specifically. Nursing staff are looking for a fair settlement that shows the government values and understands their profession. We appear a long way from that currently but I remind ministers it is entirely in their gift.”

Health Secretary Steve Barclay


Health Secretary Steve Barclay will attend a meeting of the NHS Staff Council on Tuesday, where associations will discuss the Government’s 5 per cent pay offer.

He told broadcasters: “I think this strike is premature and is disrespectful to those trade unions that will be meeting on Tuesday.”

People gather in London ahead of a Support the Strikes march in solidarity with nurses, junior doctors and other NHS staff


Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer refused to say whether he would support nurses going on strike without exemptions for emergency care.

He told the Sophy Ridge On Sunday programme on Sky News: “I don’t want to see strikes go ahead.

“The way to avoid strikes is to get in the room with the nurses and resolve these issues.”

Nurses make up a quarter of NHS staff and are the biggest proportion of the health service workforce.

Dame Ruth May, chief nursing officer for England, said: “We are grateful to the RCN for agreeing a process of safety critical mitigations and we continue to support all nurses, those who work and those who take industrial action.

“These mitigations do not represent a return to standard staffing. The industrial action will still have a very significant impact on services during the strike period and patients can expect to see longer waits for care.

“The public should use the NHS wisely, with those needing non-urgent care using pharmacies and 111 online as their first port of call. And if you have a life-threatening emergency, please seek help in the usual way by dialling 999.”

Mr Barclay, writing in Mail Plus, said he echoed NHS leaders’ fears about the impact on patient safety.

“There will be disruption. The NHS will be doing everything possible to mitigate this and will prioritise resources to protect emergency treatment, critical care, neonatal care, and trauma,” he wrote.

The strike was called after RCN members rejected a government offer to nurses in England of a 5 per cent pay rise for 2023-24 and a one-off payment of at least £1,655 to top up last year’s salary, depending on staff grade.

NHS workers will also take part in a protest march in central London on Monday.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Suspect Arrested: Utah Man in Custody for Charlie Kirk’s Fatal Shooting
In a politically motivated trial: Bolsonaro Sentenced to 27 Years for Plotting Coup After 2022 Defeat
German police raid AfD lawmaker’s offices in inquiry over Chinese payments
Turkish authorities seize leading broadcaster amid fraud and tax investigation
Volkswagen launches aggressive strategy to fend off Chinese challenge in Europe’s EV market
ChatGPT CEO signals policy to alert authorities over suicidal youth after teen’s death
The British legal mafia hit back: Banksy mural of judge beating protester is scrubbed from London court
Surpassing Musk: Larry Ellison becomes the richest man in the world
Embarrassment for Starmer: He fired the ambassador photographed on Epstein’s 'pedophile island'
Manhunt after 'skilled sniper' shot Charlie Kirk. Footage: Suspect running on rooftop during panic
Effective Protest Results: Nepal’s Prime Minister Resigns as Youth-Led Unrest Shakes the Nation
Qatari prime minister says Netanyahu ‘killed any hope’ for Israeli hostages
King Charles and Prince Harry Share First In-Person Moment in 19 Months
Starmer Establishes Economic ‘Budget Board’ to Centralise Policy and Rebuild Business Trust
France Erupts in Mass ‘Block Everything’ Protests on New PM’s First Day
Poland Shoots Down Russian Drones in Airspace Violation During Ukraine Attack
Brazilian police say ex-President Bolsonaro had planned to flee to Argentina seeking asylum
Trinidad Leader Applauds U.S. Naval Strike and Advocates Forceful Action Against Traffickers
Kim Jong Un Oversees Final Test of New High-Thrust Solid-Fuel Rocket Engine
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Macron Appoints Sébastien Lecornu as Prime Minister Amid Budget Crisis and Political Turmoil
Supreme Court temporarily allows Trump to pause billions in foreign aid
Charlie Sheen says his father, Martin Sheen, turned him in to the police: 'The greatest betrayal possible'
Vatican hosts first Catholic LGBTQ pilgrimage
Apple Unveils iPhone 17 Series, iPhone Air, Apple Watch 11 and More at 'Awe Dropping' Event
Pig Heads Left Outside Multiple Paris Mosques in Outrage-Inducing Acts
Nvidia’s ‘Wow’ Factor Is Fading. The AI chip giant used to beat Wall Street expectations for earnings by a substantial margin. That trajectory is coming down to earth.
France joins Eurozone’s ‘periphery’ as turmoil deepens, say investors
On the Anniversary of Queen Elizabeth’s Death: Prince Harry Returns to Britain
France Faces New Political Crisis, again, as Prime Minister Bayrou Pushed Out
Murdoch Family Finalises $3.3 Billion Succession Pact, Ensuring Eldest Son’s Leadership
Big Oil Slashes Jobs and Investments Amid Prolonged Low Crude Prices
Court Staff Cover Up Banksy Image of Judge Beating a Protester
Social Media Access Curtailed in Turkey After CHP Calls for Rallies Following Police Blockade of Istanbul Headquarters
Nayib Bukele Points Out Belgian Hypocrisy as Brussels Considers Sending Army into the Streets
Elon Musk Poised to Become First Trillionaire Under Ambitious Tesla Pay Plan
France, at an Impasse, Heads Toward Another Government Collapse
Burning the Minister’s House Helped Protesters to Win Justice: Prabowo Fires Finance Minister in Wake of Indonesia Protests
Brazil Braces for Fallout from Bolsonaro Trial by corrupted judge
The Country That Got Too Rich? Public Spending Dominates Norway Election
Nearly 40 Years Later: Nike Changes the Legendary Slogan Just Do It
Generations Born After 1939 Unlikely to Reach Age One Hundred, New Study Finds
End to a four-year manhunt in New Zealand: the father who abducted his children to the forests was killed, the three siblings were found
Germany Suspends Debt Rules, Funnels €500 Billion Toward Military and Proxy War Strategy
EU Prepares for War
BMW Eyes Growth in China with New All‑Electric Neue Klasse Lineup
Trump Threatens Retaliatory Tariffs After EU Imposes €2.95 Billion Fine on Google
Tesla Board Proposes Unprecedented One-Trillion-Dollar Performance Package for Elon Musk
US Justice Department Launches Criminal Mortgage-Fraud Probe into Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook
Escalating Drug Trafficking and Violence in Latin America: A Growing Crisis
×