Nurses at Southend Hospital could strike over pay

Bosses at the hospital say they must make savings and may offer a pay rise of less than 2.5 per cent, which has been agreed across the country between unions and the NHS.

Medical staff at Southend, excluding doctors, opted out of the national pay agreement five years ago and voted instead to accept terms and conditions set by Southend. It is now the only hospital in the country not included in the national agreement.

One 42-year-old Southend nurse said a lower pay deal for Southend nurses was “disgusting”.

She said: “I already earn less than my son who works in a bank and my daughter who works on the railways and yet I do a vital job. When the hospital asked us to vote for what it called the agenda for change, years ago, they made it sound as if we would be a lot better off sticking with the hospital.

“They told us about the perks we would get, but I think a lot of people are regretting it now.

“We even have to pay to park at the hospital.”

Nurses have never gone on strike at Southend, but Nick Bradley, Unison spokesman for Essex, met hospital bosses on Thursday and said the deal was unfair.

He said: “We won’t accept this. If they don’t meet the national agreement we will ballot members for industrial action.

“At this stage it is too early to say what would happen if action were taken, but half of the staff at the hospital are Unison members “This pay award and any dispute would concern nurses, porters, administrative staff and any other staff who work there, apart from doctors.”

Though medical staff opted out of the national deal, Mr Bradley said one alternative to strike action could be to encourage staff to apply in writing to be allowed back into the national scheme.

ABOVE AVERAGE PAY RISES NOT SUSTAINABLE - BOSS JOHN Gilham, Southend Hospital chief executive, would not reveal what increase the hospital was prepared to offer.

He said staff had received a pay deal above the national average in the past, and this was not sustainable without putting patient services and jobs at risk.

He said: “We have already looked extremely carefully at our expenditure throughout the organisation and made savings wherever this is possible without affecting patient services. We will continue to do the same over the next three years.

“As a hospital, we have a duty to our patients to provide the highest quality services and to our staff to safeguard jobs.”

Southend is a foundation trust, which means it is responsible for its own finances. Mr Gilham added: “We are committed to balancing our books while ensuring we can continue to invest in essential medical and improvements.”