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Victory for striking nurses over exhausting longer shifts

Nurses went on strike when London trust extended day shifts to 9pm, the workforce said late-night shifts left them at breaking point and ‘chronically overworked’. Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust extended shifts to reduce waiting lists, but has agreed to reduce the number of late-night finishes, which could have also affected patient safety, and union Unite says all scheduled strike action has been called off.
Striking nurses at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust said long shifts with later finishing times affected their mental health and personal lives.

Nurses went on strike when London trust extended day shifts to 9pm, the workforce said late-night shifts left them at breaking point and ‘chronically overworked’

Striking nurses at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust said long shifts with later finishing times affected their mental health and personal lives.
Striking nurses at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust said long shifts with later finishing times affected their mental health and personal lives. Picture: Unite

Around 100 striking theatre nurses at an NHS trust have won their fight against more late-night finishes and ‘unsustainable working hours’ to tackle the surgery backlog.

Day surgery theatre nurses at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust (GSST) walked out in June, July and September over day shifts being extended to 9pm.

The nurses, who are members of Unite, said the late finishing times were affecting their mental health and personal lives, and were leaving them ‘chronically overworked’ and at ‘crisis point’.

Number of striking nurses doubled during dispute

Since the strikes were announced in June, the group of nurses involved has doubled from 50 to 100 as staff joined the union to take part in the industrial action, Unite said.

Following negotiations, GSST has now agreed to significantly reduce the number of late-night finishes required, with shift times now finishing at 9pm on only two days a week. Working hours will remain the same as staff will start their shift later, or they will have a longer shift with fewer hours at other points in the rota pattern.

'Proper investment' needed, not longer hours, says union

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: ‘A huge well done to Guys’ and St Thomas’ theatre nurses for standing together in their union and getting the trust to see sense over unsustainable working hours.

‘Demanding healthcare staff run themselves into the ground as an alternative to proper investment is a short-term fix that will only worsen the crisis in the NHS. Unite stands ready across the health service to defend workers who are being subjected to such treatment.’

Industrial action mandate extended to March 2025

Unite said all scheduled strike action has been called off, but the union will continue to consult with GSST over other issues related to the nurses’ working hours.

As a sign of good faith, the trust has agreed to accept an extension of the nurses’ industrial action mandate until 12 March 2025 to allow negotiations to be completed.

Trust says 'we have worked hard to end this dispute'

Unite regional officer Tabusam Ahmed said: ‘This agreement would not have been reached without the hard work and solidarity of Unite’s reps and members at Guys’ and St Thomas’.’

A spokesperson for GSST said: ‘We have worked hard to bring an end to this dispute so we can operate on more patients and reduce waiting lists. This agreement allows us to do that while listening to the concerns of our staff.’


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