Greater Manchester NHS Trust Declares Critical Incident as 350 Staff Strike

Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust declared a critical incident on August 23 ahead of strikes by more than 350 workers across four Greater Manchester hospitals. Staff at Salford Royal, Royal Oldham, Rochdale Infirmary, and Fairfield General will walk out Monday, Wednesday, and Friday this week over a dispute with outsourced agency NHS Professionals managing overtime payments. The trust says some planned surgery will be postponed, though urgent and emergency care will continue.

Why staff are striking over £80 per shift

Theatre workers, nurses, clinical support workers, and housekeepers say they are losing more than £80 per shift because of how NHS Professionals calculates overtime pay. When covering staff shortages, workers claim they are entitled to time-and-a-half pay but sometimes earn less than a normal shift. Union Unison says an offer to resolve the dispute was withdrawn by the trust before talks could take place.

Critical incident declaration and service impact

The trust declared a critical incident to secure extra support for urgent and time-critical operations, including cancer care. Gertie Nic Philib, chief people and strategy officer at NCA, said the trust wanted to ensure emergency surgery could proceed. However, some planned appointments and treatments will be delayed or rescheduled. The trust apologised for the impact on patients and said affected patients would be contacted directly without needing to call.

Trust’s position on pay consistency

The trust argues that theatre colleagues have been receiving higher overtime rates than other staff at the same level across NCA. The trust says it wants everyone treated fairly and paid consistently for extra hours in line with arrangements across Greater Manchester and nationally. Unison counters that it agreed to Christmas Day-level cover throughout the strikes and that any failure to plan safely lies with the trust.

Picket lines and union stance

Picket lines will form from 7:30am on Monday August 24 and Friday August 28 at all four hospitals. Unison North West regional organiser Kevin Dolan said the union remains willing to negotiate. The strikes mark the latest action at NCA after four strikes were held in June over the same pay dispute.

Final Thoughts

The three-day strike will test whether NCA can maintain emergency surgery while losing theatre staff. Unison’s willingness to negotiate suggests room for settlement before Friday’s final walkout, but the trust’s withdrawal from earlier talks signals a hardened position on pay consistency across the workforce.

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