West Suffolk Hospital and Ipswich Hospital RCN members will strike in March

Nurses at hospitals in Bury St Edmunds and Ipswich will be going on strike again next month.

Yesterday the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) announced their members at West Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (WSNFT) and East Suffolk and North Essex Foundation Trust (ESNEFT), would be taking part in the 48-hour strike.

The strike will start at 6am on Wednesday, March 1, running to 6am on Friday, March 3.

Previous strike action took place during day shifts, lasting for 12 hours at a time.

For the first time the RCN will involve nursing staff working in emergency departments, intensive care units and cancer care.

Pat Cullen, RCN General Secretary and Chief Executive, said: "It is with a heavy heart that I have today asked even more nursing staff to join this dispute.

"These strikes will not just run for longer and involve more people but will leave no area of the NHS unaffected."

"I will do whatever I can to ensure patient safety is protected. At first, we asked thousands to keep working during the strikes but it is clear that is only prolonging the dispute. This action must not be in vain – the Prime Minister owes them an answer.”

"By refusing to negotiate with nurses, the Prime Minister is pushing even more people into the strike.

"He must listen to the NHS leaders and not let this go ahead."

Ms Cullen added: "I will do whatever I can to ensure patient safety is protected. At first, we asked thousands to keep working during the strikes but it is clear that is only prolonging the dispute.

"This action must not be in vain – the Prime Minister owes them an answer."

Sue Wilkinson, executive chief nurse for West Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust, said: "We would like to see this dispute resolved as soon as possible to minimise the impact on our patients and dedicated staff.

"In the lead-up to March 1 we will continue our collaborative approach, working closely with Royal College of Nursing colleagues to plan the continued provision of safe care for our patients.

"Unfortunately, this further period of strike action will cause more disruption. If a procedure or appointment will need to be postponed, patients will be contacted directly. If patients have not heard from us, they should come to their procedure or appointment as planned.

"During this period, if it is not an emergency, we urge the public to consider options such as visiting a pharmacist, contacting their GP, or visiting 111.nhs.uk."

Nick Hulme, Chief Executive of East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust said: "Once again we will be planning for all eventualities to keep our patients safe – that is our top priority.

"This strike (in March) will be very different because of the length of time it covers, and the way exemptions are being managed by the Royal College of Nursing. Planning for elective, emergency, cancer care and diagnostics will be more complex and our teams are working hard to minimise disruption for patients.

"As always, we will be asking local people only to come to our Emergency Department if it’s absolutely essential, for emergency and life-threatening cases when someone is seriously ill or injured, or their life is at risk.

"While pay is a matter for Government and the trade unions, we want to see a resolution as soon as possible to make sure we can continue to focus on delivering high quality and compassionate patient care to anyone in our communities who needs it."