London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Tuesday, Aug 12, 2025

Nurses' strikes over May bank holiday will present serious challenges, says NHS Providers

Nurses' strikes over May bank holiday will present serious challenges, says NHS Providers

A 48-hour strike by nurses, which will include emergency care, will "present serious risks and challenges", an NHS boss has said.

The Royal College of Nursing has rejected the pay offer for England while Unison workers accepted it.

Sir Julian Hartley, from NHS Providers, which represents NHS workers, said the May bank holiday strike would mark an "unprecedented level of action".

The government said it was "based on a vote from the minority" of nurses.

The award on the table was a 5% pay rise for 2023-24. And there was an extra one-off lump sum of at least £1,655 to top up the past year's salary. But on Friday, the RCN announced its members had rejected the offer by 54% to 46%.

The walkout from 20:00 BST on 30 April to 20:00 on 2 May will involve NHS nurses in emergency departments, intensive care, cancer and other wards.

Nurses have already walked out twice this year on 6 and 7 February and on 18 and 19 January - but on those dates there were exemptions so that nursing cover was maintained in critical areas.

The announcement comes just as the NHS is getting back to normal after a four-day walkout by junior doctors - who are demanding a 35% pay rise - which ended at 07:00 on Saturday.

Sir Julian, chief executive of NHS Providers, said during the strike by junior doctors gaps had been filled by consultants and other staff, but he warned if nurses went ahead with their action this might be more difficult to deal with.

"But with nursing staff, obviously that represent a significant proportion of the workforce, taking action in those areas as well that will present an unprecedented level of action, that we haven't yet seen from nursing stuff and therefore the challenges with that, the organisation and all the work that go into managing and mitigating that will be enormous," he said.

When asked about the prospect of nurses and junior doctors striking on the same day, he added: "They are central, pivotal to the delivery of care across all sectors, hospitals, community services, mental health services.

"So obviously the prospect of both groups being out at the same time would present enormous challenges to the service and that would be really really the most difficult challenge ever faced yet if we had to deal with that scenario."

The RCN's director for England, Patricia Marquis, when asked by BBC Newsnight about coordinated strike action, said it was having conversations with the British Medical Association but not specifically around coordinating strikes.

"That's obviously something that would have to be considered, least because we're all in the same space. We all work in the same places", she said.

"And therefore there may be an issue where our strikes do at some point either coordinate or overlap in someway."

Nick Hulme, chief executive of Colchester and Ipswich Hospitals said recent strike action had been a "massive distraction from the work we should be doing" including reducing waiting times - and urged all parties to find a quick solution.

Speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today programme, Mr Hulme said he would be concerned if the currently separate strike action by nurses and junior doctors was co-ordinated at any stage.

"It just fills me with a lot of anxiety and it's almost something I can't comprehend," he said.

"Being able to run services safely without those two clinal groups of staff I think would be very, very difficult indeed and would increase the risks to patients."

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt urged members of the GMB and Unite unions - which represent smaller numbers of NHS staff - to join Unison in accepting the government's offer because it would be "best for patients and best for staff".

The British Medical Association, which represents junior doctors, said it was "not ruling in or out" of co-ordinated action with other unions - such as nurses' unions.

Dr Vivek Trivedi, the co-chairman of the BMA junior doctors committee, said that if the government refused to negotiate "we are prepared to strike again", adding: "We will consider all options available to us."


Clint Cooper who is a nurse at Scarborough Hospital said he believed in the principles of what his colleagues were doing, but he decided to vote against strike action in the RCN ballot.

"Last week I had two patients who were very poorly and I wonder if I hadn't been there and escalated it, would they still be alive if I had walked out and that's my conscience talking to me," he said.

Meanwhile, fellow RCN member Diane Cawood voted to reject the government's latest pay offer, describing the staffing situation as "dire" and inpatient care as "dangerous" at the moment.

The mental health nurse, whose NHS trust did not meet the threshold to strike, said she enjoyed her work but "the day may come when I can't afford to stay in this job".

Nurse Clint Cooper said it was not just about pay but"about the future of the NHS"


A Unison member who has worked as a nurse for 30 years and voted to accept the government's pay offer said the pressure on staff was "unsustainable" but pay was not the fundamental issue.

The specialist nurse, who wishes to remain anonymous, said that instead retention and recruitment "presents the greatest challenge to the profession".

Pat Cullen, RCN general secretary and chief executive, said that until there was a significantly improved offer, RCN nurses would be forced to go back to the picket line.

She said the government "needs to increase what has already been offered and we will be highly critical of any move to reduce it".

The Unison union, which represents some nurses and ambulance crews, voted overwhelmingly in favour of the government's pay offer.

Sara Gorton from Unison said health workers would have wanted more "but this was the best that could be achieved through negotiation".

Members have "opted for the certainty of getting the extra cash in their pockets soon", she added.

Hundreds of thousands of NHS staff from other unions are still voting on the same pay deal over the next two weeks.

In Scotland, union members have accepted an offer worth an average 6.5% for 2023-24. Health unions in Wales and Northern Ireland are still in negotiations with their governments over pay

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Trump Proposes Land Concessions to End Ukraine War
New Road Safety Measures Proposed in the UK: Focus on Eye Tests and Stricter Drink-Driving Limits
Viktor Orbán Criticizes EU's Financial Support for Ukraine Amid Economic Concerns
South Korea's Military Shrinks by 20% Amid Declining Birthrate
US Postal Service Targets Unregulated Vape Distributors in Crackdown
Duluth International Airport Running on Tech Older Than Your Grandmother's Vinyl Player
RFK Jr. Announces HHS Investigation into Big Pharma Incentives to Doctors
Australia to Recognize the State of Palestine at UN Assembly
The Collapse of the Programmer Dream: AI Experts Now the Real High-Earners
Security flaws in a carmaker’s web portal let one hacker remotely unlock cars from anywhere
Street justice isn’t pretty but how else do you deal with this kind of insanity? Sometimes someone needs to standup and say something
Armenia and Azerbaijan sign U.S.-brokered accord at White House outlining transit link via southern Armenia
Barcelona Resolves Captaincy Issue with Marc-André ter Stegen
US Justice Department Seeks Release of Epstein and Maxwell Grand Jury Exhibits Amid Legal and Victim Challenges
Trump Urges Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan to Resign Over Alleged Chinese Business Ties
Scotland’s First Minister Meets Trump Amid Visit Highlighting Whisky Tariffs, Gaza Crisis and Heritage Links
Trump Administration Increases Reward for Arrest of Venezuelan President Maduro to Fifty Million Dollars
Armenia and Azerbaijan to Sign US-Brokered Framework Agreement for Nakhchivan Corridor
British Labour Government Utilizes Counter-Terrorism Tools for Social Media Monitoring Against Legitimate Critics
OpenAI Launches GPT‑5, Its Most Advanced AI Model Yet
Embarrassment in Britain: Homelessness Minister Evicted Tenants and Forced to Resign
President Trump nominated Stephen Miran, his top economic adviser and a critic of the Federal Reserve, to temporarily fill an open Fed seat
The AI-Powered Education Revolution: Market Potential and Transformative Impact
Chikungunya Virus Outbreak in Southern China: Over 7,000 Hospitalized
French wine makers have seen catastrophic damage to vines that were almost ready to be harvested after the worst fires in more than 70 years burned through the south of the country
US Lawmaker Probes Intel CEO’s China Ties Amid National Security Concerns
Brazilian President Lula says he’ll contact the leaders of BRICS states to propose a unified response to U.S. tariffs
Trump Open to Meeting Putin as Soon as Next Week, with Possible Trilateral Summit Including Zelenskiy
Katy Perry and Justin Trudeau spark dating rumors, joining high stakes world of celeb-politician romances
US envoy Steve Witkoff arrived in Moscow to seek a breakthrough in the Ukraine war ahead of President Trump’s peace deadline
WhatsApp Deletes 6.8 Million Scam Accounts Amid Rising Global Fraud
Nine people have been hospitalized and dozens of salmonella cases have been reported after an outbreak of infections linked to certain brands of pistachios and pistachio-containing products, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada
Karol Nawrocki Inaugurated as Poland’s President, Setting Stage for Clash with Tusk Government
Trump Signals JD Vance as ‘Most Likely’ MAGA Successor for 2028
US Charges Two Chinese Nationals for Illegal Nvidia AI Chip Exports
Texas Residents Face Water Restrictions While AI Data Centers Consume Millions of Gallons
U.S. Tariff Policy Triggers Market Volatility Amid Growing Global Trade Tensions
Tariffs, AI, and the Shifting U.S. Macro Landscape: Navigating a New Economic Regime
Representative Greene Urges H-1B Visa Cuts Amid U.S.-India Trade Tensions
U.S. House Committee Subpoenas Clintons and Senior Officials in Epstein Investigation
Sydney Sweeney Registered as Republican as Controversial American Eagle Ad Sparks Debate
Trump Accuses Major Banks of Politically Motivated Account Denials and Prepares Executive Order
TikTok Removes Huda Kattan Video Over Anti-Israel Conspiracy Claims
Trump Threatens Tariffs on India Over Russian Oil Imports
German Finance Minister Criticizes Trump’s Attacks on Institutions
U.S. Proposes Visa Bond of Up to $15,000 for Some Applicants
U.S. Farmers Increase Lobbying Amid Immigration Crackdown
Elon Musk Receives $23.7 Billion Tesla Stock Award
Texas House Paralyzed After Democrats Walk Out Over Redistricting
Mexican Cartels Complicate Sheinbaum’s U.S. Security Talks
×