Further strike action took place at Stevenage’s Lister Hopistal yesterday as a dispute over the government’s refusal to increase wages continues.

Nurses from the Royal College of Nursing supported industrial action after a one per cent pay rise for healthcare workers recommended by the Independent Pay Review Body was not implemented.

RCN steward Anne Wells said: “A number of healthcare unions took industrial action on November 24 and we wanted to offer our moral support.

“Nurses have effectively had pay cuts over the past three years and a one per cent pay rise was recommended for nurses. We want MPs to hear just how insulted nursing staff feel about this.”

The East of England Ambulance Service, the Royal College of Midwives and the Society of Radiographers also took part in the strike action.

A spokesman for the East and North Herts NHS Trust, which runs the Lister, said: “We were pleased to see that our staff who took industrial action this morning respected our guidance to put patients first. Throughout the morning, despite being exceptionally busy in terms of numbers of patients attending our hospitals, services were maintained broadly as planned.

“That said, however, some patients may have had to wait a little longer than normal for their care – but everything was done to keep any disruption to our services to a minimum.”