Members of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) in more than 100 NHS trusts are carrying out a 28-hour strike that ends at midnight on Tuesday.
Health leaders warned that the third strike in six months by the union will have a “very significant impact” on patients.
But in an interview on Sunday, Pat Cullen, RCN general secretary, said strikes could go on for years unless the Government changes its approach.
The union agreed at the last minute to provide more nurses for emergency departments and intensive care wards, The Telegraph reported.
However, no exemptions have been made for cancer services, meaning staff from those wards will walk out for the first time in the union’s history.
The escalated action differs from the RCN's previous strikes when cancer care was protected.
MP/PR