UK nurses strike may hit services, Manx Care warns

No Manx services are directly protected from strike action in England

Specialist emergency care on the Isle of Man may be impacted by a nursing strike in England.

Royal College of Nursing members are planning industrial action from 20:00 BST on 30 April until 23:59 on Monday.

While the island's nurses are not part of the walk-out, Manx Care said it may affect "commissioned and directly delivered services".

A spokeswoman said some "specialist emergency pathways" for those with major injuries "may not be available".

Members of the Unite union in England - comprised mainly of ambulance workers and junior health staff - have rejected the latest NHS pay offer.

It comes after nurses on the island voted to throw out a new pay offer put forward by Manx Care at the end of last month.

'Safe as possible'

The Manx Care spokeswoman said the body was working with the NHS trusts in Cheshire and Merseyside to "ascertain what their service delivery will look like during the period of industrial action".

"We may need to transfer some individuals who require specialist treatment to locations outside of the North West region," she said.

Manx Care has said it would make sure there was "appropriate senior clinician availability and additional staffing across its urgent and emergency care services" throughout the action, the spokeswoman said.

The healthcare body would "ensure that Isle of Man patients are kept as safe as possible, and that services are maintained as effectively as possible", she added.

Island patients with scheduled appointments and operations in the UK are also likely to receive cancellations and re-bookings directly from UK hospitals.