The picket line outside of St. Mary’s Hospital
NHS workers at St Mary’s Hospital in Paddington joined with fellow NHS services across England to stage the first strike in more than 30 years over pay today.
Workers from six trade unions, including midwives, nurses, ambulance crews, porters and office workers, took part in the four-hour walk out, which started at 7am and ended at 11am.
“Our priority is patients,” said an St Mary’s Hospital striker. “But we can care for them only if we have a living wage.”
Trade unions want a 1% pay rise for all NHS staff, but the government has said the proposal would cost too much.
“Cameron says he cares about patients. So why is he punishing those who do the caring?” said an St Mary’s picketer.
The strike was expected to disrupt some NHS services, however in partnership with the Trust and local trade unions, it passed with services at St. Mary’s relatively unaffected.
A spokesperson for Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust said St Mary’s Hospital was “running a normal weekday service. Emergency, urgent and in-patient care are unaffected and patients should attend their appointments as normal.” The hospital added that: “the strike is having next to no impact on our services.”
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