Members of the RCN will take to the picket lines next month (Picture: Maureen McLean/Shutterstock)
Health Secretary Steve Barclay has said he will face nurses who plan to strike next month in court, in a bid to stop their action.
Mr Barclay said he will be taking legal action against the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) over the proposed strikes on May 2.
RCN members working in the NHS in England are preparing to take industrial action for 48 hours over the May bank holiday.
They are set to walk out from 8pm, or the start of a night shift on 30 April, until 8pm or the start of the night shift on 2 May.
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The action will see nurses in emergency departments, intensive care and cancer wards down tools for the first time.
NHS bosses wrote to Health Secretary Steve Barclay asking him to check the legality of the strike action, before the mandate expires in May.
It comes after a long-running dispute between the government and nurses’ unions over pay and working conditions.
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Mr Barclay said he will be taking legal action against the Royal College of Nursing over the proposed strikes on May 2.