Picket lines were formed at dozens of hospitals, while thousands of NHS appointments and operations have been cancelled, with the health service running a bank holiday-style service in many areas.

'Tragic day for the NHS' - nurses' strike latest

This is the picture from across the UK.

'It's with a heavy heart that I am out here today'

Nurses on the picket line at Aintree Hospital in Liverpool spoke to Sky News about why they are striking today.

Matron Rose James has been in the NHS for 38 years. She said now it is "much more difficult for nurses to come into the jobs after they took away the bursary".

"So trainee nurses have to spend money training and for what? To be paid in some cases less than if you worked in a coffee shop. That's not right. We need to retain our brilliant nurses."

Research nurse Glyn Fletcher works with stroke patients and has been in the NHS for 35 years. He said: "I love my job. I was actually very upset when I voted for strike action.

"It's with a heavy heart that I am out here today. I wasn't even sure if I was going to come to the picket line. But we have to. Nursing is in crisis and pay is a big part of that.

"But we also need the government to recognise that without nurses the NHS simply cannot function."

'We are exhausted and deflated'

Deputy ward manager Catherine Hughes-McGreal said she wants the government to "sit up and listen to us".

"We have insufficient staffing numbers and it's not sustainable. This all comes down to patient safety. None of us want to be out here but we've got no choice.

"Sometimes we're so overstretched that we are worried that mistakes are going to be made and people are going to die. It's horrible."

Nursing associate Alison Kamperis said the government is "trying their best to wreck the NHS".

"Yes, we want better pay. But it's not just about pay. It's about trying to keep our brilliant nurses in this profession. We are exhausted and deflated and it's about time the government gave us a fair deal."

'We can't guarantee the job is as safe as it should be'

Nurse Dave Carr has worked in the NHS for 40 years. Speaking from London, he said: "We cannot deliver guarantee patient safety any more.

"We can't guarantee the job is as safe as it should be. We need a pay rise not just for money in our pockets, but to retain staff to keep staff, in fact, we need a pay rise to save the NHS."

Ethna Vaughan said the "whole NHS is under pressure and everyone feels it".

She added: "The short-sighted attitude of the government and not paying nurses enough means in the long term, it's difficult to get nurses into the profession and it's difficult for nurses who want to stay because they can't afford to."