More than 350 NHS staff have walked out from four Greater Manchester hospitals in a dispute over overtime payments, forcing the trust that runs them to declare a critical incident.
The Northern Care Alliance (NCA), which operates Salford Royal, the Royal Oldham, Fairfield General and Rochdale Infirmary, faces three days of strike action by theatre staff on Monday (August 24), Wednesday (August 26) and Friday (August 28).
Dispute over overtime pay
The row centres on the trust's use of NHS Professionals to manage overtime. The trade union UNISON claims staff are missing out on more than £80 per shift when covering shortages.
UNISON North West regional organiser Kevin Dolan said the trust's theatre staff have "no other choice but to walk out with [the NCA's] refusal to pay them what they're due when covering staff shortages."
Impact on patients
The trust has apologised to patients and warned that some less urgent operations will be postponed, with affected patients being contacted directly.
Chief people and strategy officer Gertie Nic Philib said the trust wants "everyone to be treated fairly and paid consistently for any extra hours they work, in line with arrangements across Greater Manchester and nationally."
The dispute follows criticism over patient safety concerns, after dozens of patients have died or come to harm due to treatment delays and staff errors, according to the NCA's own reports.
