Nurses, midwives and ambulance crews to strike in Brighton and Hove today

NHS staff from six unions are due to go on strike in Brighton and Hove this morning (Monday 13 October).

Nurses, midwives and ambulance staff are scheduled to walk out from 7am to 11am in a dispute over pay.

They have sought to reassure the public that emergency patients will still be seen and expectant mothers will be able to deliver safely. Ambulance crews too will still be answering emergency calls.

Their action will focus on the more routine parts of the job such as patient transport, antenatal clinics and outpatient appointments.

The six unions taking action are the Royal College of Midwives, the GMB, Unison, Unite, the Union of Construction, Allied Trades and Technicians (UCATT) and the British Association of Occupational Therapists (BAOT).

When medics and support staff return to their posts, they are expected to work to rule for the next four days.

The unions want a 1 per cent pay rise for all staff but the NHS has said that this would cost too much.

As a result, the unions said, staff are leaving the NHS because they can’t afford to stay.