Royal College of Nursing members in England start their 28-hour strike at 20:00 BST on Sunday.
By Nick TriggleNurses in half of England's hospitals, mental health and community services will go on strike later with NHS chiefs warning care is at risk.
In these areas strikes will still continue, but a small number of RCN members will be asked to work to provide a minimum standard of cover and meet the legal requirement on trade unions for life-and-limb cover to be provided. The NHS is advising people who are seriously ill or injured to call 999 as usual, but non-urgent cases should call 111.Preya Assi, a cancer nurse at University College London Hospital
She said the pay offer made by the government was "untenable" because of inflation, which had left nurses struggling to pay their bills and look after their families. But general secretary Pat Cullen said members had been forced into this action because the government did not value them "enough to pay fairly"."We are intensifying the action because the strike so far has not produced a good enough offer from ministers."
Members of Unite, one of the smaller health unions, will also be taking action in two services on Monday - London's Guy's and St Thomas' Hospital and the Yorkshire Ambulance Service.The strike was called earlier this month after RCN members rejected a government offer for England of a 5% pay rise for 2023-24 and a one-off payment of at least £1,655 to top up last year's salary, depending on staff grade.
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