Healthcare workers vote to strike

Healthcare support staff employed by the East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust have voted 97 per cent in favour of industrial action, union UNISON has announced.

Staff at Hertford County Hospital, Lister Hospital in Stevenage and the QEII in Welwyn Garden City have voted ito strike over a grading dispute that has seen Band 2 healthcare assistants perform tasks normally undertaken by higher paid staff.

A spokesperson for UNISON said: "Most of the staff have routinely undertaken clinical tasks alongside nurses and midwives that would normally be done by people on the higher Band 3. This includes taking blood, performing electrocardiogram tests and inserting cannulas." 

Band 2 would normally only provide personal care, such as bathing and feeding patients.

The NHS trust has agreed to regrade the affected workers, and compensate them for being underpaid but the trust is only offering its staff back pay to January 2023, along with a lump sum based on their length of service.

Caroline Hennessy, UNISON Eastern head of health, said: "These health staff are proud of the amazing care they provide to patients, but the trust has been exploiting their goodwill for years.

"Workers are fed up of providing care on the cheap. The union has tried talking to the trust to get a fair deal, but senior managers are refusing to deliver. That leaves a walkout as the only option left to staff.

"The trust can put a stop to this by coming back to the negotiating table and making an offer that recognises the vital role clinical and maternity support workers play in delivering quality care."

In response, a spokesperson for the East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust said: "We have a huge appreciation for all the work our healthcare support workers do for our patients, and we respect their right to take industrial action.

"We have followed national and regional guidance from NHS England to best ensure that these staff members are sufficiently compensated for any additional work they have taken on.

"We have also worked closely with integrated care board colleagues and system partners, and it is our understanding that our offer to UNISON is in line with other healthcare organisations in the region.

"We are working with UNISON and have engaged ACAS in an effort to come to an agreement that satisfies everyone, as well as manage operations at our trust should any periods of industrial action take place."