NURSES across the country went on strike for the second time this year yesterday (December 20).

The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) is calling for a rise of 5 per cent above the RPI inflation rate, which measures how much prices are going up over time and is currently higher than 14 per cent.

That would mean more than a 19 per cent pay rise, which the government has said is unaffordable.

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Strikes also took place on December 15 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.

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.

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A spokesperson for the trust said: “Our priority, as always, is patient safety and providing care for those patients who need it most.”

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This story was written by Gee Harland. She joined the team in 2022 as a senior multimedia reporter.

Gee covers Abingdon, Didcot, Wallingford and Wantage.

Get in touch with her by emailing: gee.harland@newsquest.co.uk

Follow her on Twitter @geeharland