in the push to win crucial votes. good afternoon and welcome to bbc news. nurses are likely to take their first ever national strike action according to their union. the royal college of nursing is still counting ballot papers returned by its 300,000 members but says those counted so far suggest support for strike action, possibly before christmas. the rcn wants a 5% pay increase above the rate of inflation. nurses working in accident & emergency and critical care would be exempted from striking to maintain services. the government said nurses should carefully consider the impact on patients. and as our health editor hugh pym reports, other health workers could also soon be staging industrial action. possible strike action is already looming in parts of the nhs in scotland. members of two unions, including ambulance staff at the gmb, have voted for walk outs. though they have called for talks with members. gmb members have voted to reject that pay offer, so we are currently