Nurses in Somerset are due to join another national strike in an escalation of the NHS pay dispute.

The Royal College of Nursing has announced a two-day strike from the morning of Wednesday, March 1.

The trust which runs Musgrove Park Hospital in Taunton and community hospitals at Minehead and Wellington will be involved again after being affected by a two-day walkout in early February.

At Minehead, nine of the 14 nurses were on the picket line outside the hospital, leaving enough staff to provide essential cover.

The union says it is taking further action because “the Westminster government has failed to act.”

It said: “Striking is a last resort. But it can be a powerful tool for change. Unfairly low pay in our profession is driving chronic understaffing. It puts patients at risk and leaves nursing staff overworked, underpaid and undervalued.”

Nurses working in areas such as emergency departments, intensive care and cancer care will be asked to take part in the strike for the first time, in an escalation of the dispute. It will be the first continuous 48-hour strike in the profession.

Meanwhile members of the GMB union working for the South Western Ambulance Service are due to go on strike on Monday, February 20, and March 6 and 20.

Patients have been asked to only call 999 in a life-threatening emergency to reduce pressure on already stretched health services.

And a further escalation is likely next week when junior doctors are expected to announce a three-day walkout in March following a strike ballot.

The NHS Confederation, which represents all parts of the NHS, has written to the prime minister warning him that he must choose between settling the dispute or ‘wave goodbye’ to his pledge to reduce waiting lists and make sure people get the care they need more quickly.

It says just over 14,000 appointments have been cancelled due to a series of strikes by NHS staff since December.

The waiting list for planned surgeries has risen above seven million people, the Confederation adds.

Chief executive Matthew Taylor said: “The stakes have just got higher and NHS leaders are becoming increasingly concerned about the escalating waves of industrial action. They are desperate for a resolution so that they can continue to recover their services for patients.”

Health Secretary Steve Barclay has said the government accepted in full the recommendations of the independent pay review body. That meant more than one million non-medical staff receiving a rise of at least £1,400 on top of a three per cent increase last year.

It meant newly qualified nurses would earn more than £31,000 a year including overtime and unsocial hours payments.

Mr Barclay said the “massive” 17.6per cent rise demanded by the RCN was neither reasonable or affordable.