NHS nurses chant for fair pay outside Birmingham’s Queen Elizabeth Hospital despite bitterly cold temperatures.

The nurses, who are part of the University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust are on strike in a row over pay, causing a disruption to services within the health service. NHS appointments and operations have been cancelled because of the strike, with the health service running a bank holiday-style service in many areas.

The RCN has been calling for a pay rise at 5% above inflation, though it has indicated it would accept a lower offer. When it submitted the 5% figure to the independent pay review body in March, inflation was running at 7.5 per cent - it is currently just over 10 per cent.