Nurses at Dorset Healthcare and Dorset County Hospital will go on strike in the new year after a dispute over pay with the government. 

Two consecutive days of strike will happen in the two trusts on January 18 and 19, along with University Hospitals Dorset and NHS Dorset ICB, unless negotiations are opened. 

The Royal College of Nursing, the union representing nurses in the UK, said it would be forced to announce more strike days if ministers failed to open NHS pay talks following Tuesday’s strike. 

Two days of strike action were held in England, Northern Ireland and Wales on December 15 and 20. 

The RCN say the value of salaries for experienced nurses today is 20 per cent lower in real terms due to successive below-inflation pay awards since 2010. 

RCN’s general secretary and chief executive Pat Cullen said: “The government had the opportunity to end this dispute before Christmas but instead they have chosen to push nursing staff out into the cold again in January.

“I do not wish to prolong this dispute but the Prime Minister has left us with no choice. 

 “The public support has been heart-warming and I am more convinced than ever that this is the right thing to do for patients and the future of the NHS. 

“The voice of nursing will not be ignored. Staff shortages and low pay make patient care unsafe – the sooner ministers come to the negotiating table, the sooner this can be resolved. I will not dig in, if they don’t dig in.” 

Rishi Sunak has said he is “sad” and “disappointed” about widespread strike action, but he insisted refusing to negotiate on public sector pay is the “right thing” in the long term.