PLANS for what will happen at NHS Fife facilities during potential strike action are being reviewed.

Almost every health board in the UK and Northern Ireland will be affected by the announcement that nursing staff across the UK have voted to walk out over pay.

The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) revealed last week that industrial action will take place in the NHS trusts or health boards that have met the legal requirements.

This is the first statutory ballot on industrial action across the country in the 106-year history of the RCN.

And, on Tuesday, UNISON, Scotland's largest health union, revealed that its NHS members had rejected the Scottish Government’s final offer on pay.

This follows a two-week consultative ballot which saw 61 per cent of members, including a range of staff groups, vote.

NHS Fife says it has been considering its plans for how services will run during any upcoming walk-out, which is expected to occur before the end of the year, with RCN's mandate to organise a strike lasting for six months until May 2023.

A spokesperson for the health board said: "Fife has been reviewing its local contingency arrangements for some time ahead of any potential industrial action.

"Patient safety will remain our priority during any period of industrial action, and we are working to help mitigate any potential impact on services."

Wilma Brown, chair of UNISON Scotland’s health committee, said: "Our members have voted in their thousands and their message is loud and clear – the Scottish Government’s pay offer just isn’t good enough.

"Ministers need to understand the anger of health staff who are working in an under-funded, under-staffed NHS. These are unprecedented times and NHS staff are struggling to make ends meet.

"This should be a massive wake-up call to the Scottish Government. They need to come back to the negotiating table with an improved offer or prepare themselves for the first strikes in the NHS since devolution."