Merseyside nurses say strike is a last resort, but they can't support their families
Staff right across Merseyside are walking out on strike, for the second day in the past week.
Last Thursday strikes were the first in the Royal College of Nursing (RCN)union's 106-year history.
The NHS says last weeks strike saw 16,000 procedures cancelled.
The industrial action is part of a dispute over pay and working conditions.
The RCN say they need an attractive pay in order to deal with the staffing crisis as 40,000 nurses resigned in last year alone.
Lucy, a nurse from Liverpool, told us "strike is a last resort" but nurses feel they have to, as the government are not listening.
Lucy said: “One in eight nursing posts are vacant.
“83% of shifts are unstaffed and experienced staff are just leaving in their droves.
“They need to. They need to address how we're gonna retain staff and make nursing an attractive profession for people to come into.
“Nurses are coming in to newly qualified positions already with that hanging over their heads because the bursaries were scrapped years ago.
“So they're already coming in on the on the back foot.
“The only way we're going to attract new staff is by paying the nurses fairly.
“So the the pay rise that we're well, the pay that we're asking for is only what is fair and is the only thing that will retain staff within the NHS.”
The Government insists it’s grateful for nurses' efforts but can't afford the 19 percent pay-rise the Royal College of Nursing is asking for.
The union asks that anyone who supports their cause join the nurses on the picket lines today.
Niaomi is a nurse at Liverpool's Heart and Chest hospital. She told us the local community are important for moral.
She said: “Liverpool are amazing, they always support us nurses. They are big on public sector and looking out for each other.
“So, Liverpool will always get that support here.
“We have the best hospitals in this country all around Liverpool, Heart and Chest, Broadgreen, Aintree, Liverpool University.
“We all specialise in different things and we all come together in these times.”
Liverpool nurse Lucy told us the nurses are "angry" and "sad" they have to strike.
She said: "If we can't recruit into nursing because it's not attractive, like what's gonna happen to the NHS?
"I think morale is at an all time low.
"Especially after COVID people are on the doorsteps clapping for the nurses.
"It's a bit of a kick in the teeth that now the government won't even discuss the matter of pay with the RCN."
The Prime Minister said the Government was "happy to sit down and talk" with unions but ministers have so far refused to discuss pay, one of the major factors behind the disputes
Rishi Sunack said: "I'm really disappointed to see that the unions are calling these strikes, particularly at Christmas, particularly when it has such an impact on people's day-to-day lives with the disruption it causes and the impact on their health."
The RCN said, in a press release, they are striking: 'To rectify the years of real-terms pay cuts that are pushing people out of the nursing profession and putting patient safety at risk.
'The RCN’s pay position is clear. We expect to see a pay award that goes 5% above inflation (the retail prices index).
'We reached our pay position for 2022-23 in close collaboration with our members across the UK. We carried out an analysis of economic trends and NHS pay over the past decade. We also considered the staffing pressures facing the profession.'
The union also says they expect to be 'taking strike action in January unless governments find a way to resolve our dispute. '