More than 350 hospital staff, including nurses, clinical support workers and housekeepers, walked out from four Greater Manchester hospitals on Monday morning (August 24) in a dispute over overtime payments. The Northern Care Alliance (NCA), the NHS trust that runs Salford Royal, the Royal Oldham, Fairfield General and Rochdale Infirmary, declared a critical incident ahead of the strikes.
Dispute over overtime payments
The trust's theatre staff will stage three days of strike action - Monday, Wednesday (August 26) and Friday (August 28). Trade union Unison says the industrial action has come as an "absolute last resort", after it claims the trust put forward an offer to resolve the dispute that was withdrawn before discussions could take place.
The row centres on the trust's use of an outside agency - NHS Professionals (NHSP) - to manage overtime. When covering staff shortages, staff are entitled to time-and-a-half pay. However, in some cases staff earn less than they would on a normal shift, with some missing out on more than £80 per shift, the union claims.
Union and trust responses
A spokesperson for Unison says the NCA's theatre staff have been left with "no other choice" but to strike, adding that bosses at the trust have "failed to do the right thing" by resolving the dispute over overtime rates. UNISON North West regional organiser Kevin Dolan said: "Striking is always the absolute last resort. The trust left its theatre staff with no other choice but to walk out with its refusal to pay them what they're due when covering staff shortages.
"Staffing levels are a well-established problem across the NHS, but NCA appears comfortable to rely on staff doing additional shifts at lower rates of pay. This dispute isn't about staff seeking special treatment, it's about NCA refusing to honour the overtime rates they should be paid.
"NCA bosses are well aware of this and know strikes could have been prevented by simply paying staff what they're due. They've failed to do the right thing, leaving patients and staff to face the consequences for their bad decisions.
"No one wants the care of patients to be affected, least of all frontline staff. These workers are passionate about delivering the highest level of care and prove this each day. They show up, going above and beyond for the people of Greater Manchester in the most difficult circumstances.
"UNISON gave the required notice ahead of industrial action and agreed Christmas Day-level cover throughout the strikes. Any failure to plan safely for the action lies solely with the trust. The union's always willing to negotiate. It was NCA that walked away from talks and hasn't indicated any intention of returning."
Critical incident declared
NHS trusts declare critical incidents when they are facing extreme pressures and feel they cannot safely deliver all core services. The NCA says that declaring a critical incident will help it "get extra support and make sure patients who need urgent surgery can get to theatre".
The trust said in a statement that some "less urgent operations and procedures" will be postponed or rearranged this week. Affected patients have been contacted directly and do not need to call in to check, they say.
Gertie Nic Philib, chief people and strategy officer at the Northern Care Alliance, said: "First and foremost, we are sorry for the impact this situation will have on our patients.
"Theatre colleagues at NCA have been receiving a higher rate of pay for additional work than other people at the same level across the trust. We want everyone to be treated fairly and paid consistently for any extra hours they work, in line with arrangements across Greater Manchester and nationally.
"Our senior doctors have reviewed the patients who need emergency, urgent or time-critical care next week, including cancer care. We want to make sure these operations can still go ahead. We asked UNISON colleagues to support the staffing arrangements needed for those patients, but this has not been agreed.
"We have declared a critical incident so we can get extra support and make sure patients who need urgent surgery can get to theatre. We are prioritising urgent, emergency and time-critical care. This means some less urgent operations and procedures will need to be postponed or rearranged. We know this will be difficult for the people affected.
"We are contacting affected patients directly about any changes to their surgery, treatment or appointment. Patients do not need to call us to check."
The incident comes after the trust has been criticised over patient safety concerns, with the NCA's own public records showing dozens of patients have died or were harmed due to treatment delays and serious errors made by staff working under extreme pressure.
