London | Nurses across Britain went on strike on Thursday (Friday AEDT) for the first time in the 74-year history of the National Health Service, underscoring critical challenges facing the long-revered system after years of underfunding and as the government contends with a burgeoning fiscal crisis.

On a bitterly cold day, nurses and their supporters walked on picket lines in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, demanding a 19 per cent pay increase and better working conditions that they say will make the profession more attractive and help address severe staffing shortages.