Hundreds to strike again at Greater Manchester hospitals

More than 350 staff at four Greater Manchester hospitals are set to strike again in an ongoing row about overtime payments.

Unison said talks had stalled and claimed the Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust had rejected offers to resume negotiations.

The workers, including operating theatre staff at Salford Royal Hospital, Royal Oldham Hospital, Rochdale Infirmary and Fairfield Hospital in Bury, will strike on 14, 15 and 17 September. The latest action follows previous strikes in June and August.

The trust said it would do "everything it can to minimise the impact on patients and maintain high standards of care and quality at all times".

The dispute centres on the use of NHS Professionals to manage overtime.

Unison said staff could earn less for some overtime shifts than they would on a normal shift, with some workers missing out on as much as £80.

The union's North West regional organiser Kevin Dolan said the trust had given "no indication that it's willing to re-enter negotiations".

Dolan also said operating theatre services were "chronically under-staffed" and staff were choosing to work extra shifts to cover shortages.

Unison said the new walkouts would take the total number of strike days since June to 10 if no agreement was reached.

Ahead of the August strikes, the trust declared a critical incident to help it secure extra support and keep urgent surgery running. It said some procedures would be postponed.

Gertie Nic Philib, chief people and strategy officer at the Northern Care Alliance, said:

"We will do everything we can to minimise the impact on patients and maintain high standards of care and quality at all times.

"We also have contingency plans in place for emergency situations.

"We value our theatre colleagues, and we remain committed to constructive discussions and finding a fair and sustainable resolution while maintaining safe care for our patients.

The Trust added it had a planned meeting with Unison on Friday to try and find an agreement and said it was "hopeful of finding a resolution that can minimise disruption to patient care and delays to treatment".

Listen to the best of BBC Radio Manchester on Sounds and follow BBC Manchester on Facebook, X, and Instagram. You can also send story ideas via Whatsapp to 0808 100 2230.