APPOINTMENTS and procedures across four Oxfordshire hospitals had to be rescheduled today due to strike action.

The Royal College of Nursing announced strikes will take place at NHS trusts across England today and on December 20, including at Oxford University Hospitals, which run the John Radcliffe and Churchill hospitals, the Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre and the Horton General Hospital in Banbury.

The strike is the biggest by nurses in the history of the NHS, involving around a quarter of hospitals and community teams in England alongside all trusts in Northern Ireland and all but one health board in Wales.

Health minister Maria Caulfield said around 70,000 appointments, procedures and surgeries will be lost in England due to the strike.

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Picket lines were set up this morning at the John Radcliffe and Churchill hospitals in Oxford and at the Witney Community Hospital.

Oxford University Hospitals said that to help safely manage the impact of industrial action, some routine and non-urgent appointments and procedures across their hospitals had to be rescheduled. All patients affected have been contacted.

A spokesperson from the trust said: “We have tried and tested plans in place to deal with any changes to our services such as industrial action, and our priority is to continue to provide safe care for our patients.

“We are working closely with the Royal College of Nursing to make sure we can continue to provide key emergency and urgent services on these days. Our priority, as always, is patient safety and providing care for those patients who need it most.

“However, to help us safely manage the impact of industrial action, some routine and non-urgent appointments and procedures across our four hospitals in Oxford and Banbury on 15 and 20 December need to be rescheduled.

“If a procedure or outpatient appointment needs to be rescheduled, patients are being contacted directly about this in advance.

Sara Randall, chief operating officer at the trust, said: "We recognise and respect the right of our staff to take part in lawful industrial action and have been working with our staff and union partners to minimise the impact on patients, visitors, and staff.

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"Patients whose appointments have required rescheduling should have already heard from us, or will have done by the end of Wednesday 14 December. Patient safety remains our priority throughout the industrial action, and we aim to rebook procedures for as soon as possible.

"Thank you for your understanding."

The RCN has been calling for a pay rise at 5 per cent above inflation, though it has indicated it would accept a lower offer.

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This story was written by Anna Colivicchi, she joined the team this year and covers health stories for the Oxfordshire papers. 

Get in touch with her by emailing: Anna.colivicchi@newsquest.co.uk

Follow her on Twitter @AnnaColivicchi