THE NHS has come to the forefront of the election campaign as nurses prepare for possible strike action over pay.

The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) has warned that unless the next government drops a one per cent cap on pay for staff, it will hold a ballot on industrial action later this year.

This will be the first strikes taken by its members.

Hove Labour candidate Peter Kyle said nurses were the backbone of the NHS but had been shown a lack of respect for the job they were doing by the Conservative Government.

He said: “The pay cap sums this up.

“Our health service is chronically underfunded and understaffed and I am appalled by the reports from the RCN that some nursing staff are now relying on food banks and second jobs to make ends meet.

The Labour party will not take for granted our brilliant nurses as the Tories have done for the past seven years – we want to thank our nurses for their care, their dedication and their self sacrifice.”

Brighton-based nurse Jason Warriner, who is chairman of the RCN’s public health forum, said: “People have become increasingly frustrated and feel enough is enough.

“We are facing a lot of uncertainty as we are not sure what impact Brexit will have on our EU staff.

“We need to ensure the pay levels are enough to encourage recruitment and retention of our nurses.”

A Conservative spokesman said: “Our nurses do a fantastic job.

“We’ve had to take difficult decisions on pay across the public sector given the deficit we inherited –while continuing to boost the NHS budget so patients get high-quality care.

“We’ve prioritised increasing the number of nurses to help those already working hard – with 12,100 more on our wards since 2010.

“But in truth, the only way we can increase NHS funding, staffing or pay is to get a good Brexit deal so the economy prospers in the years ahead.

“Only the strong and stable leadership of Theresa May can deliver that.”

The RCN said nurses voted in a consultative ballot by nine out of ten to support action short of a strike while almost four out of five backed strikes.

More than 50,000 of the RCN’S 270,000 members took part in the poll.

Another ballot would have to be held before any action takes place.

The RCN has warned that low levels of pay are partly responsible for tens of thousands of unfilled nursing posts.

The union says nurses have suffered a 14 per cent pay cut in real terms since 2010 because of a Government cap on public sector pay

A formal pay cap of one per cent was introduced in 2015.

RCN council chairman Michael Brown said: “Our members have given us the very clear message that they can’t and won’t take any more.

“This is an unprecedented show of anger and frustration over the Government’s pay policy. Politicians must now listen and tell us what they will do about nursing pay.

“It’s a message to all parties that the crisis in nursing recruitment must be put centre stage in this election.

“We’re demanding answers on behalf of our patients as well as nursing staff.

“If we don’t stand up now, how can we guarantee their future safety and wellbeing?

“The RCN has never gone on strike before, so balloting our members would be a very significant step.

“We’ve heard from members that they want to send a much tougher message to Government which is why we will be leading them in a summer of protest activity.”