Nursing Strikes in the UK - NHS Medicine Hot Topics & Medicine Interview Questions

You will need to provide some examples of hot topics you can apply during your medical school interviews.

Here you will learn everything you need to know about the nursing strikes that occurred in the UK.

This includes the ethical implications and some example medicine interview questions and model answers for you to look at.

Combine your reading here with medicine interview tutoring to boost your answers and delivery.

UK Nursing Strikes Explained: A Summary for Medical Interviews

1. The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) held its first-ever UK-wide strikes on 15 and 20 December 2022, the first industrial action in the union's then 106-year history. Six days of strike action followed across England, Wales and Northern Ireland into spring 2023 over pay and unsafe staffing. The dispute has since reignited each pay round, with RCN members rejecting the 2023, 2024/25 and 2025/26 pay awards.
2. Strike action was planned in Scotland in 2022, but was paused when the Scottish government opened talks with unions earlier than Westminster. Scotland has since negotiated separately: RCN members there accepted a Scottish government offer of 4.25% for 2025/26 and 3.75% for 2026/27, with an inflation guarantee, keeping Scotland out of strike action.
3. Nurses are striking due to years of real-term pay cuts, and understaffing that they say endangers patient safety and constitutes unfair working conditions
4. When nurses strike, measures are taken to ensure that safe staffing levels for life-preserving care are maintained
5. Planned strikes for March were paused as governments agreed to meet with union leaders for talks, which are still ongoing
6. It is unclear whether an agreement will be reached in this set of talks - if not, then more strike action could well take place

👉🏻 Read more: MMI Medicine Interview Tips Guide

What You Need to Know About the UK Nursing Strikes for Medical School Interviews

Why are nurses striking? Pay, inflation and safe staffing

The original dispute began during the 2022-23 cost-of-living crisis, when RPI inflation peaked at around 13-14%, far outstripping the pay rises on offer. Although headline inflation eased after 2023, the RCN argues that years of below-inflation awards have left nursing pay worse off in real terms than a decade ago, which is why members have continued to reject pay awards through to 2026.

When measured against inflation, the RCN says experienced nurses are around a fifth worse off in real terms than they were in 2010. The original 2022/23 offer was an average of about 4.75%, below inflation at the time. Since then, members have rejected a 5% offer (2023), a 5.5% award (2024/25) and a 3.6% award (2025/26), arguing each fails to restore lost earnings.

The Royal College of Nursing - a trade union of over half a million nurses, midwives, and nursing assistants - was seeking a pay increase of 5% above inflation - it is important to note that the recent 13.4% figure is higher than when the request was made.

Workforce pressures remain severe. As of 2025, there were over 40,000 registered nursing vacancies in NHS England, and the RCN warns that the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan is already running thousands of nurses behind target. The RCN links chronic understaffing to its 'corridor care' campaign, which documents patients being treated in corridors, car parks and storerooms. Nurses argue that only better pay and safe-staffing laws can halt the exodus from the profession.

Junior doctors are also striking, as you can read about in our article on their strike action.

👉🏻 Read more: NHS Questions at the Medicine Interview

What do strikes mean for patient care?

Legally, strikes are not allowed to risk patient safety to the extent that they could cause death or serious harm. As such, staffing levels are maintained at the minimum level possible to maintain essential services such as A&E, intensive care, life-prolonging treatment and time-sensitive diagnostic procedures.

Employers, rather than nurses, are responsible for implementing this care. Nurses are encouraged by the RCN to inform bosses of their intent to strike so that other NHS staff can be drafted in for cover, or some nurses can be informed that they are required to work to provide critically important services.

As part of the reasoning for the strikes is to ensure safe staffing levels so that patients can be properly cared for, it is a priority of the RCN to ensure that no harm befalls patients due to the strikes.

When nurses strike, their employer can legally withhold their pay and not contribute to their pensions on strike days. However, the RCN provides ‘strike benefits’ to striking nurses whose pay has been deducted.

What is the current status of the UK nursing strikes in 2026?

A timeline of the RCN pay dispute (2022 to 2026)

The nursing dispute has run across several pay rounds, and interviewers value candidates who can give an accurate, up-to-date sequence rather than vague generalisations. December 2022: the RCN held its first-ever UK-wide strikes on 15 and 20 December, followed by six days of action into spring 2023. Spring 2023: the government made an offer of a one-off payment for 2022/23 plus a 5% consolidated rise for 2023/24. The deal passed the NHS Staff Council (most other unions accepted), but RCN members narrowly rejected it (about 54% against).

June 2023: the RCN re-balloted for a fresh strike mandate. Although a large majority of those who voted backed action, turnout was only 43%, below the 50% legal threshold under the Trade Union Act 2016, so the English strike mandate ended. 2024/25: members rejected the 5.5% award in September 2024 on a record turnout (around two-thirds against), but the RCN did not move to a strike ballot. July 2025: members rejected the 3.6% award for 2025/26, with 91% against in England and Wales and turnout above the 50% threshold.

February 2026: the Westminster government announced a 3.3% award for 2026/27 and, the RCN argues, returned to the Pay Review Body process instead of the direct negotiations unions expected. In response the RCN escalated towards a formal industrial action ballot. As of June 2026 the dispute remains live, while Scotland's nurses, who accepted a separate multi-year offer, are not taking action. The exact ballot outcome may have moved on, so always check the RCN website for the very latest before an interview.

As of 2026, the picture varies by nation. The original 2022-23 strikes ran for six days in England before the RCN's June 2023 reballot fell short of the 50% turnout threshold required by the Trade Union Act 2016 (43% turnout), ending that strike mandate. RCN members went on to reject the 5.5% award (2024/25) and the 3.6% award (2025/26). The 2025/26 rejection passed the 50% turnout bar, and after Westminster announced just 3.3% for 2026/27 in February 2026, the RCN moved to a formal industrial action ballot, warning of fresh strikes. Scotland accepted its separate offer and has not struck since 2022.

Nursing strikes are more supported by the public than other strikes taking place across the UK, so the government is incentivised to work with the RCN to avoid public backlash.

When did the nurses strike?

RCN members across England, Wales and Northern Ireland first struck on 15 and 20 December 2022, with further strike days into spring 2023. Northern Ireland's nurses, who had also struck in 2019-20, remained in dispute over devolved pay arrangements.

👉🏻 Read more: Common NHS Hot Topics Questions

Key Ethical and Social Issues Related to the Nursing Strikes in the UK

Is it ethical for nurses to strike? The arguments for and against

One important question is on the ethics of nurses striking. Proponents argue that it is ethical on two grounds.

First, nurses - as with any other employees - have the right to fair pay and working conditions. The importance of their work doesn’t undercut that. If anything, it enhances that right further. Second, nurses are striking for patient safety. Striking now can prevent long-term harm befalling patients due to unsafe staffing levels and a tired, burnt-out workforce.

Opponents contend that strikes are unethical because they risk patient safety and disrupt care. Studies of previous NHS strikes have generally found little measurable harm to patient mortality, partly because life-preserving services are maintained. However, the 2022-23 action was the largest nursing strike in UK history, and in 2023 the High Court ruled one planned RCN strike period unlawful because it extended beyond the union's mandate, a reminder that the legal limits on industrial action are tightly drawn.

👉🏻 Read more: Answering Medicine Ethics Questions

What impact might the strikes have on perceptions of the NHS?

Corridor Care and Safe Staffing: The Bigger Picture Behind the Strikes

To answer well at interview, it helps to see the strikes as one symptom of a deeper workforce crisis rather than a simple pay row. The RCN's 'corridor care' campaign has documented thousands of nurses reporting that they routinely treat patients in corridors, waiting rooms, cupboards and car parks because there is no bed and no space. The college describes this as undignified and unsafe, and uses it as evidence that the NHS is structurally understaffed, not just underpaid.

The numbers underline the point. As of 2025 there were over 40,000 registered nursing vacancies in NHS England, and the RCN has warned that the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan is already running behind its nurse-recruitment targets. The union argues for safe-staffing legislation, mandatory minimum nurse-to-patient ratios in law, similar to systems used in parts of Australia and the United States, so that staffing is protected regardless of budget pressures.

In my experience as a GP, this is the argument that resonates most with patients and interviewers alike: pay disputes are not only about money, they are about whether there are enough nurses on a ward to keep people safe. A strong candidate can connect the pay strikes, the corridor-care crisis and the case for safe-staffing laws into a single, coherent picture of the pressures facing the modern NHS.

Another important issue is how strikes affect perceptions of the NHS. Public satisfaction with the NHS has fallen to record lows: the long-running British Social Attitudes survey found satisfaction at around 21% in 2024, its lowest since the survey began in 1983, driven by long waits, staffing shortages and underfunding rather than by industrial action itself.

Given this, many argue that the strikes could improve the perceptions of the NHS. The public is mostly in support of striking nurses, and if the government responds positively then it could improve perceptions of how well-funded and safe health services in the UK are.

However, others argue that nurses striking could look unprofessional and patients may fear being put at risk. As strikes go on for longer, public support for them drops - however, most still blame the government rather than NHS staff.

Top Tips for Answering Medicine Interview Questions on the Nursing Strikes

“Why Medicine and Not Nursing?” How to Handle This Related Interview Question

Many candidates researching nursing strikes are really preparing for a different but related question: 'Why medicine and not nursing?' This is a common interview trap, and a poor answer can sound dismissive of nurses, exactly the wrong note to strike when nursing morale is in the news. Never imply medicine is 'better' or 'higher' than nursing; the two are different, complementary roles, and showing respect for nurses is itself a marker of insight into how the NHS works.

A strong answer focuses on the distinct nature of the doctor's role: the breadth of biomedical training, responsibility for diagnosis and overall management of treatment, and the particular type of decision-making and continuity of care that medicine involves. You can acknowledge that you admire nursing's hands-on, patient-centred care while explaining that your own interests, strengths and experiences point you towards the diagnostic and clinical-leadership aspects of being a doctor.

Linking back to the strikes can actually strengthen this answer: you might note that valuing nurses, and understanding why they have felt forced to take industrial action, is part of being a good doctor, because medicine is delivered by a multidisciplinary team in which doctors and nurses depend on one another. That shows maturity and self-awareness, which is exactly what panels are looking for.

You could get questions about any of the above topics or strikes more generally, in your medical school interviews. Some top tips to consider are:

1. Any questions about nurses, or other members of the MDT, present an opportunity for you to show off your understanding of how important they are to run the NHS. Make sure that you are respectful and supportive of nurses in your answer.
2. Give an evidence-based answer. Whilst there is much speculation about the potential negative impacts of the strikes, it’s important to engage with the fact that previous strikes have not endangered patients - whether you support or oppose them.
3. The BMA supports the nursing strikes and encourages doctors to show solidarity. You should recognise this in your interviews.

👉🏻 Read more: MMI Medicine Interview Tips Guide

Example Medicine Interview Questions and Answers on the Nursing Strikes

Why do you think that NHS nurses have been striking this year?

Nurses are striking for a multitude of very good reasons - just as plenty of professionals across the UK have been doing this year and last.

First of all, nurses have endured more than a decade of below-inflation pay. The RCN says experienced nurses are around a fifth worse off in real terms than in 2010, which, to me, shows a lack of respect for critically important and demanding work. That erosion of pay, combined with a job made harder by chronic understaffing, is what drove members to take historic strike action in December 2022 and to keep rejecting pay awards since.

Second, nurses are striking for patient safety. With over 40,000 nursing vacancies in NHS England as of 2025, and the RCN's corridor-care reports documenting patients cared for in unsafe spaces, the link between staffing and safety is hard to ignore. On my work experience placements I saw the impact of low staffing first-hand, and spoke with nurses doing work that would once have been shared between two.

Some wards are rarely reaching what would be considered to be normal staffing levels, which puts patients at risk because regardless of how much effort staff put in, it’s hard to make up for low numbers.

Given this, the RCN hopes - just as I do - that the strikes can prompt real change in nurses’ working conditions that lead to improvements in their well-being and patient safety in the NHS.

👉🏻 Read more: Answering Medicine Ethics Questions

Do you support the 2023 NHS nursing strikes? Why or why not?

I absolutely support the right of nurses to take lawful industrial action, and I hope the long-running dispute is resolved fairly. Whatever your own view, in an interview it is wise to acknowledge both the nurses' case and the genuine concerns about patient disruption, then reason your way to a balanced position.

Nurses are a vitally important part of the NHS. They deserve - as all workers do - to receive fair compensation for doing their jobs. Over the last decade, being a nurse has become much harder due to lower funding and staffing levels - but the amount of money that they are paid, in real terms, has decreased. This clearly disparity needs to be resolved.

I understand concerns about patient safety during the strikes - of course, preserving the lives and well-being of the public is what the NHS is for. However, nurses are taking actions to mitigate the impact on patient well-being, for instance, ensuring that all necessary and life-prolonging treatments, as well as time-sensitive diagnostic procedures, can take place.

Additionally, I have read systematic reviews of the literature on previous NHS strikes that have shown that they have not harmed patient well-being.

Even if there is a short-term impact on patient well-being, I think that this is necessary to prompt safe staffing levels and prevent long-term damage to NHS staffing that is much more harmful to patients.

Given these reasons - I strongly support the 2023 NHS nursing strikes, just as the BMA does.

👉🏼 Read More: Medicine Interview Questions Guide

Practice Medical Interview Nursing Strike Questions

1. Why did the nurses strike in the NHS?
2. What are NHS nurses doing to ensure patient safety during the strikes?
3. Whose responsibility is it to minimise disruption to NHS services during the nursing strikes?
4. What do you know about the NHS nursing strikes over the last year?
5. What is the RCN?
6. What can you tell me about the staffing levels of NHS nurses these days?
7. How do you think the public feels about NHS nurses striking?
8. How do the NHS nurses' strikes impact public perceptions of the NHS?
9. What proportion of nurses do you think support and oppose the ongoing strikes? Why might they support or oppose them?
10. What makes an NHS strike ethical or unethical?

👉🏻 Read more: 280 Common Medicine Interview Questions

Conclusion

Overall, nursing strike questions can provide a valuable opportunity to reflect on the ethical challenges that can arise in medicine and to demonstrate your ability to think critically about these issues.