Live updates as nurses go on strike today in Wales for the first time

NHS services face significant disruption as nurses across Wales go on strike today. Unionised nursing staff from the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) will walk out on Thursday December 15 in a row over pay after nurses in Wales voted for industrial action in November for the first time in history.

Nurses in all but one health board in Wales will be striking on Thursday with a second strike day planned for December 20. Aneurin Bevan University Health Board members voted to strike but did not reach the 50% turnout threshold needed for industrial action. Staff say the dispute centres on pay and patient safety with the RCN claiming the number of vacancies in NHS Wales is now at an unprecedented 3,000. It has asked for 5% above the RPI rate of inflation which stands at over 12%, but Welsh Government claims it cannot afford to increase pay without help from the UK government.

NHS Wales services are expected to be significantly impacted on Thursday with non-urgent or routine appointments likely to be postponed. Health boards have informed patients if their appointment has been cancelled. A number of critical and urgent services are exempt from the strike and will go ahead as normal, as agreed by NHS employers and trade unions to ensure the continuity of urgent or life-threatening care during any strikes. They are chemotherapy, dialysis, critical care units such as intensive care and high dependency, neonatal and paediatric intensive care and paediatric A&E.

Read more: Nurses go on strike in Wales for the first time: Cancelled appointments, surgeries and everything you need to know

Welsh Government said Thursday's action would have "a significant impact on NHS services" but that it "[recognised] the strength of feeling among staff"