Yorkshire NHS nurses join national walkout in pay row

Nurses are striking over pay, with several services impacted across Yorkshire on Wednesday and Thursday

Nurses in parts of Yorkshire are walking out again in a row over pay.

Members of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) are taking part in 12-hour strike action, leading to disruption to some hospital services in the region.

It's the third walkout after two strike days before Christmas, with further action on Thursday.

The RCN said nurses deserve a pay rise of 19%, with the government previously describing such an increase as "unaffordable".

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Staff will continue to provide "life-preserving" and some urgent care but routine surgery and other planned treatment is likely to be impacted.

Two further strikes are due to be held on 6 and 7 February, unless there is movement on pay.

Impacted services in Yorkshire on Wednesday and Thursday include:

• Barnsley Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

• Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust

• NHS West Yorkshire ICB

• Sheffield Childrens NHS Foundation Trust

• Sheffield Health and Social Care NHS Foundation Trust

• Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

• York and Scarborough Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Sarah Dodsworth, the RCN's Northern, Yorkshire and Humber regional director, said more needs to be done to attract people to the profession.

Speaking to BBC Radio York, she said: "It's about nursing in the NHS, their terms and conditions of employment and the conditions they find themselves providing care for patients.

"It's with a heavy heart that every single nurse will be on the picket line, they didn't vote to strike lightly."

The RCN says nurses deserve a pay rise of 19%, with the government previously describing such an increase as "unaffordable"

York and Scarborough Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, which runs York Hospital, Scarborough Hospital, Bridlington Hospital and other sites, said it had postponed a number of operations and appointments during the action, with impacted patients contacted.

"The trust has robust plans in place to manage the impact of any industrial action which ensures we can continue to deliver safe care for our patients," a statement said.

"To do this, our staff and union representatives have worked together to put in place extensive procedures and processes which focus on maintaining essential services, although these may be staffed differently and there may be delays or other changes for patients."