NURSES in South Cumbria are set to strike once again with the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) warning there will be a ‘significant impact’ on the NHS.

The RCN has announced walk-outs at more than 120 NHS employers in England in a significant escalation of its row over pay and staffing - and the next strike will run continuously for 48 hours from 6am on March 1.

Previous action took place only during the day shift, for 12 hours each time.

In a first, the RCN will involve nursing staff working in emergency departments, intensive care units, cancer care and other services that were previously exempted.

Staff from both University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust and NHS Lancashire and South Cumbria ICB will be involved in the strike action.

On Friday, RCN general secretary Pat Cullen accepted strikes would add to risks to patients, but resisted accepting a characterisation that it would pose a significant risk to patients.

East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust chief executive Nick Hulme told BBC Radio 4's Today programme the planned strikes "will be very different and it's clearly a much higher risk" than previous strikes, adding there is "significant risk".

Ms Cullen was asked on the programme if she accepted there would be significant risk to patients, and she said: "What I accept is that there will be significant changes in the 48 hours. And of course there will continue to be extreme challenges."

Asked again, she said: "What our patients are facing every day, in a depleted health service, a health service in crisis, poses significant risk and significant challenge."

The college, which has accused the UK Government of refusing to engage in negotiations, has also said it will increase financial support for its members who lose wages by taking industrial action.

And Ms Cullen has urged Mr Sunak to step in and help resolve the dispute.

On Friday, she told BBC Breakfast: "We're working night and day with NHS leaders, but we can also see NHS leaders stepping in and writing to the Prime Minister.

"There's no doubt there will be a significant impact and we are now urging the Prime Minister to step in with 12 days to try and resolve this, around a round table today."

She said she has not spoken to the Health and Social Care Secretary for more than a month, claiming there has been "no communication" with Steve Barclay during that time.