London theatre nurses call off strikes as deal agreed

Around 100 day surgery nurses at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust took strike action in June, July and September with their union Unite over the introduction of 9pm finishing times.

“Demanding healthcare staff run themselves into the ground as an alternative to proper investment is a short-term fix”

Sharon Graham

The nurses had argued that the later shifts, in addition to general high workloads, were negatively impacting their physical and mental health and work-life balance.

Negotiations between Unite and the trust have now resulted in a new agreement to only run 9pm-finishing shifts on two days a week.

The union has claimed the agreement as a victory in their dispute and has called off further strike action that had been scheduled.

However, the nurses’ industrial action mandate will remain in place until March 2025 to allow for negotiations to be concluded.

Unite also said that there were “other issues related to the nurses’ working hours” that it wanted to discuss with the trust, which has received praise nationally for its introduction of high-intensity theatre (HIT) lists to tackle surgery backlogs.

The union’s general secretary Sharon Graham said: “A huge well done to Guy’s and St Thomas’ theatre nurses for standing together in their union and getting the trust to see sense over unsustainable working hours.

“Demanding healthcare staff run themselves into the ground as an alternative to proper investment is a short-term fix that will only worsen the crisis in the NHS.

“Unite stands ready across the health service to defend workers who are being subjected to such treatment.”

Meanwhile, a spokesperson for Guy’s and St Thomas’ said: “We have worked hard to bring an end to this dispute so we can operate on more patients and reduce waiting lists.

“This agreement allows us to do that whilst listening to the concerns of our staff.”