It stated that it has “serious concerns about safely staffing the hospital” during the Royal College of Nursing strikes.

“This is not a lightly taken step, but patient safety is our top priority,” it continued.

The NHS defines a business continuity incident as “an event or occurrence that disrupts (or may disrupt) an organization’s normal service delivery below acceptable predefined levels.”

It also means that “special arrangements must be implemented until services can be restored to an acceptable level.”