Responding to the Royal College of Nursing announcement today that there will be two more 12-hour nurse strikes on 6 and 7 February if negotiations on pay between the government and unions do not progress, NHS Providers interim chief executive Saffron Cordery said:

"The announcement of two further nurse strike dates on consecutive days across more locations next month is very worrying.

"The health service is already stretched far too thin as trust leaders try to cope with ongoing industrial action alongside other mounting pressures bearing down on the NHS.

"We've seen how disruptive these strikes can be, and more extensive industrial action is likely to have an even greater impact. Nobody wants this to continue happening.

"We understand how frustrated nurses feel, and how they have got into this point: below-inflation pay awards, the cost-of-living crisis, severe staff shortages and increasing workloads have created near-impossible conditions.

"There are three weeks between now and these newly announced dates in February. This is more than enough time for the government and the unions to open negotiations on pay for 2022-23 and avert more strikes."