Hundreds of healthcare support workers at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust will take strike action from next week in a row over pay, says UNISON.
Staff at Queen’s Medical Centre and City Hospital are set to walk out on Thursday 10 and Friday 11, with further strikes planned for 17, 22 and 28 April*. In a recent ballot, 94% of those who voted backed strike action.
According to NHS guidance, healthcare support workers on salary band 2 of the Agenda for Change pay scale should only be providing personal care, such as bathing and feeding patients. However, most of the healthcare assistants have routinely undertaken clinical tasks, such as taking blood, performing electrocardiogram tests and inserting cannulas, says UNISON.
The trust has agreed to regrade some staff but refuses to provide back pay for the extra responsibilities workers have been given. These date back as far as 2018 in some cases.
UNISON East Midlands head of health Gareth Eales said: “Healthcare support staff want to continue providing exceptional care to people across Nottingham. They’ve been working well above their grade for years. It’s time the Trust did the right thing and paid them properly for their work.”
Helen, a healthcare assistant in Nottingham said: “All we’re asking for is to be fairly paid for the work we’ve done. No one wants to strike, but staff are determined to get what they deserve.”
Notes to editors:
*Strike dates and times:
07:00 10 April until 06:59 on 12 April 2025 (48 hours)
07:00 17 April until 06:59 on 18 April 2025 (24 hours)
07:00 22 April until 06:59 on 23 April 2025 (24 hours)
07:00 28 April until 06:59 on 29 April 2025 (24 hours)
– Band 2 clinical support workers should only undertake personal care duties, according to NHS guidance.
– So far UNISON has won £80m for healthcare assistants and other support workers through its Pay Fair for Patient Care campaign. More information on the campaign is available here.
– UNISON is the UK’s largest union with more than 1.3 million members providing public services in education, local government, the NHS, police service and energy. They are employed in the public, voluntary and private sectors.
