Strike action confirmed at Bassetlaw Hospital after intensive care working dispute
Staff are to walk out following disagreement over plans for them to spend part of the year at Doncaster Royal Infirmary
There are set to be further strikes at Bassetlaw Hospital, in a continuing dispute over working conditions for some staff.
Strike action will impact the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at the hospital from December 15, until December 19.
Doncaster and Bassetlaw Teaching Hospitals (DBTH) has announced temporary arrangements to ensure patient care remains safe throughout the five-day walkout.
The dispute centres on the Trust’s proposal for Bassetlaw ICU nurses to rotate to Doncaster Royal Infirmary for eight weeks each year.
DBTH says the plan is necessary to maintain essential skills for treating critically ill patients, as Doncaster typically handles more complex cases than Bassetlaw due to serving a larger population.
The Trust has argued that such clinical experience is vital to sustaining high standards in Worksop and surrounding areas.
Karen Jessop, Chief Nurse at DBTH, said:
“Our priority is patient safety, and that means ensuring our highly skilled ICU nurses maintain the level of competency critically ill patients rightly expect."
"Bassetlaw Hospital sees fewer very sick patients, and a short-term rotation with Doncaster is the safest and most effective way to keep those specialist skills up-to-date.
"We have worked closely with colleagues and unions, and we believe our offer is practical, supportive, and focused on enabling our teams to continue delivering the safest, highest-quality care.”
However, Unite, representing staff, claims the Trust has threatened staff with 'fire and rehire' tactics if they do not agree to the new terms.
Sharon Graham, Unite’s general secretary, said:
“The trust’s abhorrent fire and rehire threats have only made the nurses more determined to fight against this blatant attempt to run down Bassetlaw’s ICU. They have Unite’s 100 per cent support in standing up for themselves and patients.”