Jeapoardised patient safety and the uncertain future of the NHS were the foremost reasons given for industrial action in Darlington and Durham by nurses on the picket line. 

There was a huge turnout today for the first of two days of strike action. Hundreds of nurses manned picket lines at the University Hospital of North Durham and Darlington Memorial Hospital. 

These are the latest walkouts in the RCN's ongoing dispute with the Government over staffing, conditions, pay and pensions. 

Many healthcare workers on the picket line today were concerned that the NHS would collapse under the current pressure that it is facing - with staff "leaving in their thousands". 

Read more: North East nurses on strike in dispute over pay and conditions

The Northern Echo: Many nurses feel like they have been left 'out in the cold' following the pandemic.Many nurses feel like they have been left 'out in the cold' following the pandemic. (Image: Sarah Caldecott)

Angela Appleby, who has worked as a nurse for 34 years said: "We don't want to strike, but we have to for the future of nursing. The NHS has become unsafe, and there is a massive strain. Staff have left in their thousands, and there is no retention of new staff."

Staff shortages, which nurses attribute to low pay and bad conditions, are putting patients in danger. Recently, the president of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine claimed that up to 500 people each week are dying as a result of delays with urgent care. Last month, the waiting times at A&E departments across the region reportedly exceeded 20 hours. 

Mandy Cranston, a senior nurse at Durham's hospital, said: "I really fear for my children and grandchildren. There's going to be no NHS left for them." 

Community nurse team leader Katherine Truelock explained that "massive staff shortages" have had a huge impact on the time and care they are able to dedicate to each individual patient. 

She said: "With the huge pressure and stress staff are put under, we have had an increase in staff off sick."

Pay was also a key factor in bringing nurses to the picket line. Katherine said: "We have had people leave the profession because they can't fill their cars up to visit patients. It can easily cost £200, and people can't afford that."

The Northern Echo: Nurses at multiple trusts in the North East have been on strike.Nurses at multiple trusts in the North East have been on strike. (Image: Sarah Caldecott)

Read more: North East and Yorkshire ambulance services issue warnings

Another nurse, Rachel Hodgson, explained that she and her partner had been forced to make the devastating decision not to have a family. 

She said: "Though we do want a family, there is just no way that we would be able to afford to have a family on this salary. Childcare is too expensive."

"The NHS has been run on goodwill for too long. The Government has taken advantage of our passion."

Shauna Dean, a specialised nurse with 27 years of experience in healthcare, said: "I am proud of our NHS, but I am saddened that we are having to strike. Even with my years in healthcare, I am earning only just over £20 an hour - it is just so wrong."

"It's only halfway through the month, and I am already in my overdraft. If it wasn't for my husband paying to fill my car up I wouldn't be able to make it to work."

All of the nurses had friends and colleagues leave the profession since the pandemic, and many had considered joining them.

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Shauna explained: "It is disheartening when you see job ads out there that pay just £1.50 less an hour than we get. They've studied for three years for a degree and got into £30,000 of debt, but young nurses are only paid £14 an hour."

Meanwhile, Health Secretary Steve Barclay said he had held “constructive” talks with the Royal College of Nursing and other unions, but he also emphasised the impact strikes have on patients. 

"Patients will understandably be worried by the prospect of further strike action by nurses — the previous two days of nurse strikes saw around 30,000 elective procedures and outpatient appointments cancelled."