Northallerton NHS workers call on Sunak to improve pay

More than a thousand NHS healthcare assistants joined a picket line today (April 8) for a 72-hour strike outside hospitals run by North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust and South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

Workers said they were striking to ensure they are moved to a higher wage band and secure a fair backpay settlement – adding they are paid around minimum wage with hefty responsibilities.

Those taking part outside Friarage Hospital in Northallerton said workers were struggling under the current deal, and urged the Prime Minister to ‘pull his finger out’ for his constituents.

Mother of three, Demilee Talbot-Bingley, who works in the Gynaecology department, said the lack of an agreement had frustrated her.

She added one day’s wages pay for just one of her children to go to nursery.

She said: “[It’s] very frustrating. With a day’s wage, it pays for one of my children to go to nursery and I’ve got three children.

“You’re having to put the kids in an afterschool club, and before [school] as well, it all costs money.”

Many of the workers attending the protest said they felt “undervalued” by the lack of an agreement and called.

Lorraine Mulholland, 60, from Northallerton, who has worked at the hospital for 36 years, said it was “terrible” that she and her colleagues were forced to fight for a fair pay deal.

She said: “It’s horrible, absolutely horrible. You want to do it for the patients, but you’re doing above and beyond your band role.

“It’s been happening for years, it just kept getting quashed. No matter what you say.

“You need a little bit back. You can go to other places like Aldi, Lidl and Tesco, they’re on more than us. It used to be a good job to go into, working in the public sector, a lot of staff I’ve seen over the years come and go because of this.

“It’s sad when you’re happy in your job, but can’t get recognised for what you do. I think [the NHS] is going to struggle unless the public and everyone else fights for us because they don’t realise what we’re all going through.”

She called the lack of attention paid to workers at the Northallerton hospital by the government, which falls within the Prime Minister’s constituency, “absolutely atrocious, disgusting.”

Karen Harrison, who works in the Gynaecology department and has worked for the hospital for 25 years, said her role originally consisted of chaperoning patients, but healthcare assistants have now taken on much more responsibility for pay which does not reflect this.

She said: “In the 25 years [I’ve been here], my wages have gone up maybe £5 an hour since I first started.

“It’s more for girls with kids, I’m lucky mine are grown up. The girls, they’ve got kids as well, they pay for childcare.

“The wages they are making go to childcare, parking, that all comes out of your wages.

“We’re doing more clinical procedures, like the nurses did. In the long run, we should be on more than minimum wage.”

According to NHS guidance, healthcare assistants on salary band 2 of the NHS’s Agenda for Change pay scale should only be providing personal care, such as bathing and feeding patients. 

UNISON has said most healthcare assistants have routinely undertaken clinical tasks that would normally be done by those on band 3, such as taking blood, performing electrocardiogram (ECG) tests and inserting cannulas. 

The union said the employer’s offer was rejected as it “failed to recognise the underpayment has continued for many years.”

It said it would negotiate with the trust if it is willing to improve its offer, but both so far refused.

A spokesperson for North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust and South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust said they appreciate the contribution of healthcare assistants, and plan to prioritise urgent and emergency care during the strikes.

They said: "We recognise and appreciate the huge contribution that healthcare assistants make to our patients.

“Since the elements of these roles were clarified nationally, we have been working closely with trade union colleagues to move our healthcare assistants to these grades where applicable. Our trusts support this move and the benefits to our HCA workforce and therefore have committed to back pay dating back to July 2021 - the date the national job profile for the clinical support worker role changed.

“During the strike action, we will once again be prioritising urgent and emergency care to protect patient safety and ensure those in life-threatening emergencies can receive the best possible care.

“If you have an appointment and we have not contacted you, please attend your appointment as planned. The NHS will contact you if your appointment needs to be rescheduled due to strike action.

“People can help us by keeping A&E free to treat the most serious and life-threatening conditions. If you have an urgent but non-life-threatening medical need, please use NHS 111 online to find the right healthcare service for your needs.”

The strikes will last until Thursday (April 11) and come after UNISON rejected a pay offer from the trusts which they called ‘inadequate’ for the ‘disrespected’ and ‘undervalued’ workers.

Michelle Taylor, 55, from Northallerton, who works in the cardiology department, said workers feel they have been forgotten about.

She said: “I think everyone feels underprivileged, and [with] the cost of living and everything else that’s going up, people are struggling.

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“People are struggling, I know everyone is. It’s not just nursing staff, everybody feels underpaid.

“[Government] are not bothered, a lot of people are going out of the NHS and going into private care to get more money.

“I just think people in general think it’s an easy job to do. It’s like care work, people just think it’s going and making cups of tea.”

Here are some more pictures from the strike today: