The Royal College of Nursing has announced 48 hours of round-the-clock strike action with no derogations from 8pm 30 April to 11.59pm on 1 May 2023.

The RCN has confirmed that this strike will involve nursing staff working in emergency departments, intensive care units, cancer care and other services that were previously exempt.

RCN and government are in dispute around the timings of these strikes. For operational purposes the NHS must plan for strikes to go ahead. 
Unite has announced industrial action by its members at some trusts will be taking place on 1 May, with timings and derogations arrangements to be confirmed.

The NHS is working hard to prioritise resources to protect emergency treatment, critical care, neonatal care, maternity, and trauma, and ensure we prioritise patients who have waited the longest for elective care and cancer surgery. We will only reschedule appointments and procedures where necessary and will rebook immediately, where possible. Unfortunately these strikes will have a significant impact upon planned and routine care. 

The NHS is asking patients to choose services appropriately during industrial action and take simple steps to help ensure care is available to patients who need it most. This includes using 111 online as the first port of call for health needs, and only using 999 if it is a life-threatening emergency.

If we have not contacted you, please attend your appointment as planned. The NHS will contact you if your appointment needs to be rescheduled due to strike action.

GP practices will not be impacted by the nursing strikes. Please continue to attend your GP and dental appointments, unless you are contacted and told otherwise. For more information on when to call 999 and when to go to A&E, you can visit the NHS UK website.