Hospital staff at Queen’s and King George’s set to strike amid bullying and outsourcing fears

Staff working across two east London hospitals are set to strike over claims of bullying and outsourcing risks, writes local democracy reporter Sebastian Mann.

Union employees of the Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals Trust (BHRUT), which oversees Queen’s Hospital in Romford and King George Hospital in Ilford, will walk out next week.

The dispute is centred on staff in the pathology and clinical engineering departments, workers’ union Unite says.

Pathology staff have attacked the trust for allegedly failing to tackle claims of bullying, harassment and discrimination that have continued despite tribunals.

They are similarly concerned about new shift patterns, which they say were introduced without “meaningful consultation” and will result in a loss of earnings.

Clinical engineering staff will take industrial action over outsourcing and the proposed transfer of their roles to Siemens Healthineers, which they say would benefit neither staff nor patients.

BHRUT has said it is “disappointed” by the Unite’s actions and the trust had “worked hard” to solve the issues in the pathology department.

Alan Wishart, the trust’s workforce director, said: “We’re disappointed Unite are taking industrial action as we’ve had detailed discussions with their representatives in recent weeks and we’re keen to continue this constructive dialogue.

“We also want to make clear that no new shift system has been introduced and no staff have seen their pay reduced as a result.

“We accept there are long standing issues that need to be resolved in pathology and we have worked hard to do so.

“As part of our ongoing response, and to address Unite’s concerns, we have offered a number of suggestions which we believe are the basis for further negotiation rather than strike action.”

The three-day action is currently slated to happen between Wednesday, 4th February and Friday, 6th February. The strikes will intensify if an agreement cannot be reached, Unite has threatened.

Sujata Virdee, the union’s regional officer, said staff had been “forced into taking strike action because of the appalling way they are being treated by the trust”.

“Any disruption that will be caused is entirely the fault of the trust’s leadership,” the officer claimed.

“The only way this dispute will be resolved is when the trust rows back on its attacks and puts forward a solution that our members can accept.”

Pathologists work in laboratories to diagnose, treat, and prevent diseases by analysing blood, tissue, and cell samples. Clinical engineering staff maintain and manage medical technology within the hospitals. 

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