Nurses' strike: Staff walk out across Yorkshire in pay row

Nurses on the picket line at Sheffield's Northern General Hospital

Nurses across Yorkshire are taking part in strike action in a row over pay.

Members of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) at trusts in Sheffield, York, Barnsley and Harrogate are involved in the industrial action.

The RCN is calling for a 19% pay rise and members in England are striking on 18 and 19 January.

The government said the demands are unaffordable, and that pay rises are decided by independent pay review bodies.

Bev Pearson was on the picket line at Northern General Hospital in Sheffield on Wednesday morning.

Ms Pearson said: "It's not all about pay. It's about fairer working conditions as well.

"We are not in it for the money because it takes a certain person to be a nurse."

Members of the Royal College of Nursing are on strike at York Hospital

Anne Penny is a bed manager at York Hospital and has worked for the NHS for 45 years.

She said she felt conditions had "deteriorated day by day" over the past five years, with nurses moved between wards to cover staff shortages.

Ms Penny told of her fears for younger nurses, saying: "They were crying, they were exhausted, they weren't sleeping, they were worrying before they came on shift.

"We have to do something to improve nursing for the future generations, so that there's somebody to look after me when I get older."

But Clint Cooper, a nurse at Scarborough Hospital, said he would be crossing the picket line despite supporting his colleagues.

"I'm seeing the worst conditions that I have ever seen and patients that are very, very sick," he said.

"How can I walk out on my patients? It's like walking out on my own mother."

The Royal College of Nursing has called for a 19% pay rise

Nurses are on strike on Wednesday and Thursday at the following trusts in Yorkshire:

• Barnsley Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

• Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust

• NHS West Yorkshire ICB

• Sheffield Children's 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

Urgent and emergency treatment will be prioritised during the strike action, a York and Scarborough Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust spokesperson said.

"We are working closely with union representatives to ensure plans are in place to maintain safe care for patients, while facilitating and respecting the right of those staff who wish to take legal industrial action," they said.

Emergency and maternity care at Sheffield Teaching Hospitals will not be affected by the action, a trust spokesperson said.

But they said the Minor Injuries Unit at the Royal Hallamshire Hospital, which is led by nurses, will be closed on 18 and 19 January.