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Nurses and ambulance staff will stay off work in protest on Monday in parts of England as the biggest round of NHS strikes begin.

Members of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) in a third of England's NHS trusts will go on strike, but nurses in Wales have suspended their strike plans after a new offer on pay.

Staff are demanding more pay to keep up with the cost of living crisis and to attract more people into the job.

They will be joined by members of two ambulance worker groups - the GMB and Unite unions - in some places as both sectors walk out on the same day for the first time.

However, despite the protests, emergency cover will be provided if needed and, Unison, which is by far the biggest union in the sector, is not taking action on Monday.

The protests mark the start of a series of strikes by NHS staff in England this week - the biggest in the history of the health service, according to NHS bosses.

Ahead of the strike action, RCN leader Pat Cullen wrote to the prime minister urging him to make a new pay offer and bring the strikes to a "swift close".

She said taking strike action was the last thing nurses wanted to do.

GMB national secretary Rachel Harrison said her members had been forced into Monday's walkout as there had been no meaningful talks for a month.

The government says they can't afford what the unions want - although it has met union leaders to discuss the situation.

There is no strike action taking place in Northern Ireland this time, while talks have restarted in Scotland following a fresh pay offer.

The services in London and the East of England will be completely unaffected.