The Royal Free Hospital in Hampstead

THE top chief of the Royal College of Nursing has rallied support for strikes at the Royal Free.

RCN general secretary Pat Cullen spoke to staff, including the chief nurse, at the Hampstead hospital on Friday.

Ms Cullen visited the Free as part of a nationwide tour of trusts after rejecting a pay deal from the government that was deemed not to have gone far enough.

Ms Cullen said there was a need for a second ballot to “make sure our nurses get exactly what they deserve”, adding: “A massive thank you to all of the nursing staff in the Royal Free, for giving me their precious time and listening carefully to the reasons for the second period of industrial action, and why it’s important for them to have their voices heard.”

The union is balloting on a second round of strike action with a decision expected on June 23.

It follows walkouts earlier this year with warnings that pay is so low that many are “struggling to live”, particularly in London.

The Royal Free was not affected by the previous dispute after a ballot of members failed to meet the threshold of 50 per cent required for industrial action.

At the UCLH – where nurses did back the strike – “the four days of strikes in nursing meant that over 2,000 operations had to be either cancelled or moved”, according to a report by the North Central London Integrated Care Board.

The Royal Free has said: “Nurses in England went back on strike from 8pm on 30 April until 8pm on May 2.

“This included staff working in emergency departments, intensive care units, cancer care and other services not previously involved in the strike action. “Nurses at the Royal Free London did not participate in this action as they did not meet the 50 per cent mandate.”