Crisis in Care: Hospital Strikes Threaten Patients, 120 Daily Cancellations
Industrial action at the Northern Care Alliance is causing significant patient care cancellations, including cancer treatments, amidst a dispute over staff overtime payments. The trust acknowledges a risk of harm to patients, while Unison points to the NCA's use of an external agency as the root cause, urging the trust to honor staff contracts to resolve the ongoing disruption.
Industrial action at the Northern Care Alliance (NCA) has led to hundreds of patient care cancellations, including vital cancer treatments, with the trust admitting a risk of harm to individuals. The strikes stem from a prolonged dispute concerning overtime payments, with over 350 staff participating. At the heart of the disagreement is the NCA's use of an external agency, NHS Professionals, to manage overtime, which Unison claims can result in staff earning significantly less, sometimes up to £80 less than a normal shift.
The impact on patients has been severe, with new figures from the NCA, which oversees Salford Royal Hospital, Royal Oldham Hospital, Rochdale Infirmary, and Fairfield Hospital in Bury, indicating that between 120 and 130 treatments are cancelled for each day of industrial action. This includes critical cancer care, as the walkouts drastically reduce theatre capacity to what is described as