Nurses strike: Queen Alexandra Hospital in Portsmouth vows to keep 'as many services open as possible' amid strike action

The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) has confirmed that strike action will take place for the very first time on December 15 and December 20, amid continued pay disputes with the government. The RCN is pushing for a 19 per cent payrise for all nursing staff, which the government has labelled as being unaffordable.

In Portsmouth, emergency care will still be provided at Queen Alexandra Hospital in Cosham, but routine services could be affected by the strikes.

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A spokesperson for Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust said: ‘While pay is matter for government and the trade unions, we value our staff and want to see a resolution as soon as possible to ensure we can continue to focus on providing high quality patient care. We are working to keep as many services open as possible and all critical services will be running.

‘If there is a need to change any planned care we will communicate directly with patients in advance. Please help us by only attending the emergency department if you need life-saving care and use your GP, pharmacy on NHS 111 for help and advice.’

Leader of Portsmouth City Council, Cllr Gerald Vernon-Jackson, believes the strikes may still impact people waiting for things like surgeries – but places the blame at the doorstep of 10 Downing Street.

He said: ‘This is the first strike action the RCN has ever taken and I don’t think it’s fair to argue that nurses have become more politically militant. There are huge problems with the NHS and we’re asking nurses who aren’t well paid to take on more reponsibility, without any financial compensation for it.

‘I understand why they want to go on strike, but my thoughts also go out to people waiting for treatment who might have that postponed – it will be devestating for them if that happens.

‘This state of affairs should never have been allowed to happen by the government. I imagine these will be a tough couple of days for staff at QA Hospital, everyone is already under huge pressure at the moment but it’s clear to see why nurses have voted for this strike action.’