PICKET lines formed again outside hospitals as NHS staff joined national strike action over pay on Monday.

Hundreds of union members from Whiston and St Helens hospitals walked out for four hours – between 7 and 11am.

This comes after action on October 16 and will be followed by six days of action short of a strike until November 30, when members will take scheduled breaks, leave on time and not work unpaid overtime. A Unison statement says pay has fallen in real terms each year since 2009.

Unison branch secretary for St Helens and Knowsley, Anthony Lockhart, said: “Morale is low in our NHS. Staff are working hard to keep services afloat but are being treated very badly by the government.

“NHS workers are now 10 per cent worse off than they were in 2010 and the refusal to pay even one per cent this year has felt like a slap in the face.

“More unions are taking part in the strike action than last time and the pressure on the Government to treat NHS staff fairly is growing.

“Health workers feel overworked and undervalued. They feel they have no option but to take action for fair pay.”