NURSES and healthcare assistants from across Oxfordshire lent their their voices to a national ‘Summer of Protest’ over pay.

Officers from the Royal College of Nursing visited the Littlemore Mental Health Centre in Sandford Road as well as the John Radcliffe Hospital to speak with staff.s.

It came as the RCN threatened to hold a formal a formal ballot on industrial action if the government-imposed one per cent cap on pay rises was not met.

Lindsay Meeks, operational manager from the Royal College of Nursing, said: “At Littlemore we met a number of nurses and talked about their needing a pay rise.

“For a number of years now nurses have had a below-inflation pay rise o none at all, which has led to a 14 per cent pay cut.

“It’s impacting on patient care and it’s about time the cap was lifted.”

Bottled water was also handed out to nurses in Littlemore before the team visited the JR, where staff were encouraged to write and draw on 'selfie boards' and pick up campaign postcards for their local MP.

Ms Meeks added: "They told us their stories of taking extra shifts to get more money, and a lot were saying they lived far away because they couldn't afford to live in this area."

The visits formed part of a day of action by the RCN, with protests taking place at the Department of Health in London, the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh, the NHS England headquarters in Birmingham and hospitals around the country.

RCN chief executive Janet Davies said: "When NHS and care services are short of staff, patients pay a heavy price. Nursing staff are taking an unprecedented stand and saying ‘enough is enough’. They know the risks of cut-price health care and will not tolerate it.

"Theresa May must put scrap this cap."

A recent poll of members found 91 per cent would support industrial action if the public sector pay cap was not lifted this summer.

A Department of Health spokesperson said: "As the Secretary of State has made clear, the support and welfare of NHS staff is a top priority as they do a fantastic job - the government is committed to ensuring they can continue to deliver world-class patient care.”