Hospital nurse Shaun Williams only started working as a nurse a year ago.

He says the thought of striking makes him sad, but he is prepared to do it.

"I am sorry we are having to do this.

"But we are doing it for the right reasons, we are doing it for patient safety.

"You are running on reserves most days. We do not have enough staff and because of the lack of nurses, patients are at risk.

"Unless we pay nurses more we are not going to attract people or keep people."

And he says unless the situation changes he may even quit nursing.

Image source, Getty Images

Let's hear from Rachel Power now, who's chief executive of the Patients Association advocacy group.

Talking about cancer patient Philip's experience (in our earlier post), Power says people are experiencing long waits for planned elected care due to the Covid-19 backlog.

That, alongside ambulances delays and existing workforce shortages, means patient health is already "at risk of deteriorating this winter" – before any strike action even takes place.

The NHS says it’s working hard to ensure patients will receive the care they need during this action, but Power says two things need to happen:

• individual patient communication needs to be kept up, so people like Philip don’t feel forgotten
• engaging with the "local population so that everyone knows exactly what’s happening"

The Patients Association supports any worker’s right to strike, she adds, but at this point "the government need to get around the table with the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) and work together... to prevent" the action from happening.

More now from Pat Cullen, general secretary of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN).

Cullen says that nurses will continue to provide "life-preserving" services during the strike.

"We will have very, very detailed and worked through plans that every single nurse that is taking strike action will be expected to adhere to," she tells BBC's Today programme.

Local "strike committees" will be run by RCN nurses to advise, as well as clinical experts, to guide and direct all decision making, Cullen adds.

Cullen says details of what defines "life-preserving" services will be announced at a later date.

Image source, Getty Images

The strike action we're reporting on is specific to England, Wales and Northern Ireland - and will see nurses stage walkouts on 15 and 20 December over a pay dispute.

But what about Scotland? Here's the bigger picture:

The RCN is calling for a rise of 5% above the RPI inflation rate, which currently stands at above 14%. No UK nation has offered close to that.

In England and Wales, NHS staff, including nurses, have been given a rise of at least £1,400 - worth about 4% on average for nurses. The Welsh government says it can't enter into pay talks without extra funding from the UK government.

In Northern Ireland, nurses are yet to receive a pay award because there is no working government.

And in Scotland, strike action has been suspended after the government there made a fresh offer worth more than 8% for a newly-qualified nurse. The RCN is currently considering the offer.

Nick Triggle
Health Correspondent

What is not yet clear is just how disruptive the strike will be.

Under union rules nurses have to provide life preserving care, which will mean emergency services, intensive care and a host of other urgent treatment and tests will be provided.

And because a series of individual ballots were held at NHS trusts and boards rather than one national ballot, nurses at more than 40% of England's hospitals, mental health and community services are not entitled to strike because the turnout was too low in those votes.

However, walkouts can happen at all of Northern Ireland's health boards and in all-but-one in Wales, the Aneurin Bevan. But at the moment we don't know how many of the services where strike action can take place will see walkouts.

It is possible the RCN could stagger the action so some services go on strike in December, with others to follow suit next year if the industrial action continues.

It is seen by the union as a way of limiting the disruption to patients, while keeping the pressure on the government.

Individual NHS trusts and boards will not find out until next week whether they will see walkouts on the two dates, because that is when the formal notices will go out.

Steve Barclay, the UK's health secretary, has been tweeting in the last few minutes.

"We have accepted the recommendations of the independent NHS Pay Review Body to give nurses a fair pay rise of at least £1,400 this year," he writes, adding this means that a "newly qualified nurse will typically earn over £31,000 a year".

This will likely be the government's main line of defence against the strike - as well as the fact the pay increase followed a 3% pay rise last year, in recognition of work during the pandemic, despite a public-sector pay freeze.

The RCN is calling for a rise of 5% above the RPI inflation rate, which currently stands at above 14%, but no UK nation has offered close to that.

Nurses across the UK have voted for strike action over pay. The Royal College of Nursing (RCN), which represents two thirds of UK nurses, says they have been getting a "raw deal" on pay for years.

"Nursing staff have had enough of being taken for granted," says general secretary Pat Cullen.

The RCN has called for a rise of 5% above the RPI inflation rate, which currently stands at above 14%, but no UK nation has offered close to that.

But what is average pay for nurses?

£34,000 is the figure is used in a report from the NHS Pay Review Body, which recommends what should happen to NHS pay in England.

In the category "nurses and health visitors" the average basic pay per full-time employee was given as £34,275, but that is a figure for March 2021.

The government says that figure increased to £35,600 by March 2022, and that nurses were then given a £1,400 increase, which should take the average up to £37,000.

Read more here.

As we've been reporting, life-saving treatment must - under trade union laws - be operational during strike action. This means it'll be elected surgeries that are largely affected.

Philip, a cancer patient, has been speaking to the BBC about his experience after doctors found a tumour on his left kidney in April. His treatment has been delayed a number of times and an operation to remove the tumour is now scheduled for January.

“Naturally, the public thinks... you receive rapid treatment. That isn't the case," he tells Radio 4's Today programme, before insisting he is "not complaining about the hospital" he's been dealing with.

Philip says the communication he's had with doctors and nurses has been "very good" when he's had it - "but clearly there’s a huge backlog". He adds that he's sympathetic to nurses striking but "also concerned my treatment will be delayed further".

Pat Cullen, general secretary of the Royal College of Nursing, says the government has "chosen a strike over listening to nursing staff".

"I have tried now for two weeks, on multiple occasions, to get the government at Westminster to listen to the voice of our members but that has fallen on deaf ears," she tells BBC Breakfast.

Cullen says nurses have been "pushed to the position" of strike action.

"Nurses will stand on picket lines, losing a day's pay on both occasions, when they cannot afford it," she says.

Nurses will be taking action to "speak up for their patients" and will continue to do so until the government "listens to them", Cullen says.

She accuses the government - with exception of Scotland, where a fresh pay offer has been made - of "turning their back on nursing staff".

"Turn your back on nurses, you turn your back on patients," she adds.

Image source, Getty Images

Under trade union laws, the Royal College of Nursing has to ensure life-preserving care is provided during the strikes, which will last from 8am to 8pm.

This is likely to mean some urgent cancer services, urgent tests and scans and ongoing care for vulnerable patients will be protected alongside A&E and intensive care - although it will be up to local health bosses and union leaders to negotiate exact staffing levels on strike days.

But it seems almost certain the walkout will increase the backlog in non-urgent hospital treatment - a record seven million people are already on the waiting list in England.

Louise Ansari, from the Healthwatch England patient watchdog, said she was "concerned" about the impact on this group of patients.

Hello and welcome to our live coverage on the news that nurses in England, Wales and Northern Ireland are to strike for two days next month. Here's a round-up of what we know so far:

• The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) has announced strikes on 15 and 20 December over a pay dispute with the government
• The strikes set to be their biggest walkout in the NHS's history
• Nurses will still provide emergency care, but routine services will be hit
• The RCN said it had been given no choice after ministers would not reopen talks
• But the government said the 19% pay rise demanded was unaffordable

You can read our full story here.