At picket lines in Newcastle and Gateshead, members of the public helped keep striking nurses warm and fed on an freezing day - and spoke of their gratitude for the NHS staff who saved their lives or those of their loved ones.
Royal College of Nursing (RCN) members went out on strike at three of the North East's NHS trusts over a pay dispute. The first time in 106 years that the RCN has recommended strike action, the dispute has seen the college call for a pay rise of inflation plus 5%. The offer on the table is just £1,400 and the RCN said this compounds more than a decade of "pay erosion".
Though some threw abuse at striking workers, the majority of public sentiment on the picket lines on Thursday was supportive - one man even pushed his drip stand down from a Freeman Hospital ward to pay tribute to nurses he sees as "heroes". Carl Brannan, 50, had a cancerous tumour removed in September and has spent the months since then recovering in hospital.
Set to leave hospital on December 20, Carl said he wanted to share a patient's perspective. "It's been a long stretch for me," he said.
"I went down to give them a box of heroes, because they are heroes and I said that to them. I know passers-by have been tooting horns and I just thought if someone going past saw a patient it would really push the message home: It's not just the nurses who want this.
"From a patient point of view, to me they deserve every single penny and more. The longer you are in hospital the more you realise how hard they work and what they do for us. So often they might be supposed to finish a long shift at 8pm, but they're still here helping to hand-over patients at 9.
"I just walked from the ward all the way down to the picket outside the hospital. It was hard work with the drip stand. But worth every step - they truly are heroes."
Earlier in the day at the RVI, retired teacher Liz Smith spoke of lifesaving NHS care many years ago. She said: "I'm a retired teacher so I have sympathy with all public sector workers and also the NHS saved my life just after the war when I had a hole in the heart operation that I know my parents would not have been able to afford if I had been born before 1948.
"That's why the NHS is absolutely the most important thing in this country to me."
And in Gateshead, outside the QE, Fen Scott was compelled to deliver sausage rolls to help feed hungry striking nurses amid the blizzard. He said: "They have looked after my family all my life and I am currently being looked after here. They saved my wife's life too.
"This hospital means everything to the people of Gateshead. I know it's about patient safety for them, as much as money. And though it's not just about that, it's vital. These nurses are paid a pittance while bigwigs make fortunes."
During the day of strike action, negotiations meant life-saving and life-preserving care continued including in the region's A&Es, while urgent cancer appointments have continued too. Further nursing walk-outs will take place - unless there is a change in position from the Government or the union, on December 20.
The following day will see the first of a number of planned strikes featuring ambulance service personnel, while in the New Year the British Medical Association will ballot junior doctors on potential industrial action too.
In a statement, an NHS England spokesperson said: "The NHS is working hard to keep patients safe during strikes, while delivering the best care possible, and patients should continue to attend appointments as planned unless contacted to reschedule. Nobody should put off seeking urgent or emergency care during the strikes, with key services continuing to operate."
Health minister Maria Caulfield said around 70,000 appointments, procedures and surgeries would be lost in England due to the strike. During the day, Downing Street has said there are “no plans” to look again at the pay deal for nurses who are staging their biggest ever strike in the history of the NHS.
Both Number 10 and Health Secretary Steve Barclay stood firm on the issue of pay when questioned by reporters.
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