More strikes announced by theatre nurses over 9pm finish

The nurses, who are members of the union Unite, have already held strike days on 27 June, 2 July and 9 July in protest of new 9pm shift finishes.

“Our nurses cannot carry on meeting the excessive demands being placed on them”

Sharon Graham

They have now announced another round of strikes, on 30 and 31 July, and Unite warned that further action would take place if the dispute remained unresolved.

The row is over the trust’s introduction of later shifts for the nurses who signed up to work in the daytime surgery unit.

According to the nurses, their initial working hours were 9am-7pm but then a 10am- 8pm shift was rolled out alongside Saturday shifts.

Now, some nurses are being asked to work until 9pm – a step they felt was too far, triggering the strike action.

Defending its decisions, Guy’s and St Thomas’ said the 8pm shifts had been in place for 10 years and that nurses were only being rostered for the 9pm shifts once or twice a month on a standby basis.

However, during the first strikes, nurses told Nursing Times that the shift changes, combined with general high workloads, meant they were “stretched to their limit” and at risk of burnout.

Announcing the next strikes, Unite regional officer Tabusam Ahmed said: “The NHS is in desperate need of investment, but that cannot be solved by overworking staff until they drop, which is what is happening at Guy’s and St Thomas’.

“The trust’s plans forcing nurses to work even later, will destroy their work-life balance and will result in a staffing exodus.

“This dispute will continue to escalate until the trust’s leadership puts forward an acceptable solution.”

When next week’s strikes take place, Unite is planning on presenting the Guy’s and St Thomas’ trust board with a petition showing support from patients and the public for the nurses.

Demonstrations will also be held at the Department of Health and Social Care and NHS England, according to the union.

“We would strongly encourage Unite to end their refusal to join talks with Acas”

Guy’s and St Thomas’ spokesperson

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said the union was supporting the nurses in their continued strike campaign.

Ms Graham said: “Our nurses cannot carry on meeting the excessive demands being placed on them.

“Staff are on the verge of burnout and patient safety is being put at risk.”

Guy’s and St Thomas’ said the new shift patterns came about because theatre nurses had previously been working overtime on an ad hoc basis due to late-running surgeries and the need to extend some surgery lists to meet demand.

It said nurses were now rostered with staggered starts and finishes with the latest scheduled finish time being 8pm.

However, some nurses would be rostered for “standby shifts” covering the period from 8pm to 9pm, typically once or twice a month.

The trust said anyone rostered for a standby shift received an additional flat payment regardless of whether they worked that period or not, plus extra if they did work beyond 8pm.

A spokesperson for Guy’s and St Thomas’ said: “The vast majority of our theatre nurses will continue to finish at 8pm, as they have for the last 10 years.

“We would strongly encourage Unite to end their refusal to join talks with [the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (Acas)] and to find a resolution that will benefit staff and patients.”