Operating theatre staff to walk out Bedfordshire hospitals in overtime pay row
NHS staff working in operating theatres in Bedfordshire hospitals will strike next week in a dispute about their overtime pay.
Bedford Hospital and Luton and Dunstable Hospital workers will walk out on Thursday and Friday (June 25 and 26).
A spokesperson for Bedfordshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust said: “We value our theatre teams enormously and fully recognise the skill, commitment and pressure involved in their roles.”
Unite, the union, says staff are upset that bosses have scrapped a payment worth up to £120 a shift for staff who work more than their contracted weekly hours.
Bedfordshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust ditched the payment in February.
The trust’s spokesperson said: “We are sorry that some colleagues feel distressed by the recent changes to overtime and additional hours payments. These changes were introduced earlier this year following a formal consultation process to ensure fairness and alignment with national Agenda for Change arrangements.”
But UNISON Eastern head of health Caroline Hennessy called the trust’s decision “a disgrace”.
Caroline said: “Workers rack up the hours to help tackle waiting lists and ensure patients get the care they need. They deserve to be paid fairly for doing so.
“It’s easy for Bedfordshire NHS to avoid any disruption. Bosses just need to keep paying staff the same rates they were before.”
Mark Williams, a senior operating department practitioner at Luton and Dunstable Hospital, said: “Taking away overtime pay shows a complete lack of respect for hospital workers.
“We face horrifying experiences. I’ve seen an eight-year-old child die in front of my eyes, but we still get up the next day and get on with the job. The least the trust can do is pay us fairly for it.”
The trust’s spokesperson said it was “committed to constructive dialogue with UNISON and our theatre teams”.
They added: “Our priority is always to maintain safe, high‑quality care for patients, and we are working closely with our teams to minimise the impact on services during this period of industrial action.”