Nottingham nurses take to picket line 'with heavy heart'
Nurses in Nottingham have joined industrial action across Britain - in their biggest strike in NHS history. 
Royal College of Nursing (RCN) is calling for a 19% pay increase  - which the government says is unaffordable. 
Nurses at the Queen's Medical Centre and City Hospital voted for action but colleagues at King's Mill in Nottinghamshire will work as normal. 
monstrating said offering higher wages was a key part of retaining staff and offering safe care.
government has said it is "hugely grateful" to nurses but the pay rise being demanded is unaffordable.
Nurses in a picket line outside Lings Bar Community Hospital in Gamston are part of action across England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
RCN official Neil Thompson, who has 46 years experience as a district nurse, said the decision was taken with a "heavy heart". 
"When it came to actually completing the ballot paper I was in tears," he said.
"This is probably the most emotional thing we have ever done and it is awful, it is really dreadful we are having to do this - but we feel we have no choice.
"We want to achieve safe staffing for our patients and unless we get paid fairly we won't be able to persuade people to stay in nursing."
Healthcare assistant Daisy James said she earned just over £10 an hour and felt she could make more in a supermarket.
"That's quite bad if you think about it, with the amount of responsibilities we have day in, day out," she said.
"I'm not taking anything away from supermarket workers who do a fantastic job but we are responsible for patient safety and our pay doesn't reflect that at all.
"With the cost of living, staff are leaving because they can't afford to do the job they are doing."
As a specialist renal nurse, Rachel Humphreys said she earned more but the problem was wider than individual salaries
"There is not enough staff to care for the patients - nationwide there are over 40,000 nurse vacancies.
"We are passionate about our jobs and it has been really difficult to make the decision to come out but we feel as if we have no choice."
Katie Manning, a lung cancer nurse, said it took a lot to convince her to come out on strike.
"Our patients are suffering everyday and I think to myself how many patients die or are not being cared for adequately on wards across the country," she said.
"We know it because we work there and see it, making decisions about which patients get painkillers or which get drips or do you care for the old lady that has been incontinent in the bed, or care for the dying patient and their family?
"You are reprioritising all day long and usually with three or four nurses off - it is draining and demoralising."
NHS Nottinghamshire said planned surgery and outpatient appointments would be affected by the nurses' strike action.
Nottingham and Nottinghamshire Integrated Care Board, Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust and Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust will see services affected due to the "reduction in staff".
Patients were told to "attend your appointment as planned" unless contacted by the NHS. 
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