Hundreds of healthcare support workers stage historic strike
Hundreds of healthcare support staff at two South London hospitals will walk out for 48 hours today in an escalating dispute over pay.
It is the first time healthcare support staff have gone on strike in London, independently of national NHS disputes.
The support workers from University Hospital Lewisham, in High Street, Lewisham, and Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Stadium Road, Woolwich, have taken to the picket line today, joined by the general secretary of Unison, Christina McAnea, and other senior union officials.
A Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust spokesman said its healthcare support staff were “valued and essential members” of the team.
He said: “We respect their right to strike and will take all necessary steps to care for patients during industrial action.”
The workers are employed on Band 2 of the NHS Agenda for Change pay scale, which involves providing personal care like feeding and bathing patients.
But, their union says, these employees regularly perform clinical tasks such as taking and monitoring blood, conducting electrocardiogram tests and providing wound dressings.
Healthcare assistant Tracy Snipp, of Plumstead Corner, has worked for the trust for eight years, and joins the picket line today.
The 59-year-old said: “It was daunting when I came to the NHS and had to do clinical procedures and observations. Since Covid the pressures ramped up.
“It’s very stressful and puts a strain on our mental health.”
According to NHS guidance, these tasks should be compensated at the higher Band 3 level pay, which could increase salaries by as much as £2,000 annually.
But Lewisham and Greenwich NHS trust, which runs the two hospitals, has refused to adjust rates or provide fair back pay for work already done, Unison said.
Ms Snipp said: “I’m disgusted. I’ve got colleagues who’ve been working there for 25 years. We have been doing the job, all we are asking is to be paid for the work we have done.
“I live on my own so I only have one wage coming in. The work is demanding and I’m doing extra shifts just to make ends meet.
“I’m physically drained.”
Ms Snipp said she never wanted to strike, but feels she has been “left with no choice”.
She said: “We provide the majority of patient care – about 70 per cent.
“So many of our colleagues have been forced to leave because they simply can’t support themselves on our current wages. They can’t afford to feed their families or keep a roof over their heads.”
A spokesman for the trust said it was in ongoing consultation with the unions and is “committed to keeping our colleagues up to date and informed”.
But Unison general secretary Christina McAnea said that similar disputes had been “fought and resolved” across the country and “it is time Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust followed suit”.
Pictured top: Healthcare support workers at the picket line outside Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Woolwich this morning (Picture: Unison)