London surgery nurses take strike straight to government

The nurses, represented by Unite, are employed by Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust to work in day surgery units.

“This dispute will continue to escalate until Guys’ and St Thomas’ leadership enters good faith negotiations with Unite”

Tabusam Ahmed

They are walking out again this week in protest over the addition of a 9pm-finishing shift.

This change, implemented earlier this year, followed a consultation in 2023 with staff in which Unite said staff opposed it.

Working hours were previously changed to include 8pm finishes, with some weekend shifts added.

Guy’s and St Thomas’ said the latest change was made to reduce surgery waiting times, with some theatre lists running later than before.

It said a “small” number of staff for each late shift were rostered to be on “standby” between 8pm and 9pm, with additional flat payments given even if they do not work the period.

However, Unite described these changes and new shift patterns as “unsustainable” and some nurses said they felt later finishes would contribute further to existing exhaustion and burnout among the workforce.

The nurses have already held several strikes outside hospitals run by the trust in June and July.

This week, staff went on strike again – and have escalated the dispute to include protests outside the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC)’s offices in London, NHS England’s London headquarters and 10 Downing Street.

Tabusam Ahmed, lead health officer for Unite London and Eastern region, told Nursing Times of the union’s reasons for escalating the dispute.

She said: “We understand the government wants to reduce waiting lists for surgeries, appointments and other NHS care provided to patients – that is why, we understand, the trust is extending these finishing times: they want to increase the number of surgeries being done.

“That’s why we’re taking the dispute to the doors of the DHSC, NHS England and 10 Downing Street. The government needs to listen to the plight of the staff of the NHS.

“They can’t reduce the waiting lists to the detriment of staff. Ultimately, the patients will suffer.”

Ms Ahmed explained that negotiations had taken place between Unite and Guy’s and St Thomas’ in August, but disagreement remained.

“This dispute will continue to escalate until Guys’ and St Thomas’ leadership enters good faith negotiations with Unite to find a solution that is acceptable to our members,” she added.

Pickets were held outside NHS England on Tuesday and Wednesday, outside DHSC on Wednesday and another will be held outside 10 Downing Street on Thursday.

This is in addition to pickets outside London Bridge Hospital.

“There is burnout, increased workload and now later hours. This combination is really, really impacting staff”

Guy’s and St Thomas’ nurse

One nurse based at Guy’s Hospital, who wished to remain unnamed, said she felt like staff have had their wellbeing and demands “bulldozed” by the employer.

She explained that one of the key issues with the changes was that there was a feeling among the day surgery nurses that they are being pushed into working hours they did not sign up for.

“What we came to do was 8am-6pm, 7am-5pm, 9am-7pm, etc. Now, they’ve pushed it to 11am-9pm and these working hours don’t suit the people who work here,” she told Nursing Times.

“We said we didn’t want it, they went over us and ahead with it. It’s not fair.

“We have staff commuting long distances, these are day surgery units but it feels like they’re making it into 24-hour surgery.”

Another nurse employed by the trust said: “The bulk of the staff here did not sign up for this. There is a responsibility to give people the jobs they have applied for, so to keep moving the goal posts over and over again…. if we don’t stop now, it could be much worse.

“There is burnout, increased workload and now later hours. This combination is really, really impacting staff.”

A trust spokesperson said, in response to this week’s strikes: “The shift times have been changed to finish at 9pm on some days, however, staff are not being asked to work any more hours.”

A DHSC spokesperson added: “We hugely value the vital work nurses carry out every day. The NHS has faced chronic workforce shortages for years, but this government will make sure it has the staff it needs to deliver worldclass care.

“Doing so will take time, but we are committed to resetting the relationship with NHS staff, training record numbers of nurses to help ease pressures and working closely with partners in education to do so.”

NHS England was contacted for comment.