HEALTH workers across Worcestershire walked out yesterday (MONDAY) morning in a row over pay.

Members of trade unions including Unison, GMB and Unite working for the NHS across the country staged the strike between 7am and 11am after the government refused to award a one per cent pay rise to all staff members.

This was the first time NHS staff had walked out over pay in more than 30 years.

Picket lines were formed across the county including at the entrance to Worcestershire Royal Hospital where a group of staff working for Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust – which runs the Royal as well as Kidderminster Hospital and Redditch’s Alexandra Hospital – gathered to make their voices heard, including medical secretary Maggie Fenwick, who said she was pleased by how much support they had received from patients.

“Everybody has been really happy to speak to us and take leaflets,” she said.

“We’ve got what we call silent support from people working inside the hospital as well. “They’ve all been saying ‘thank you for doing this for us’.”

She added, although midwives had voted to strike, none of those within the trust had decided to walk out as due to the impact it may have had on services for mothers-to-be.

“By 2016 we will be back to the same levels of pay we had in 2013,” she said. “It’s really quite a nasty decision by the government.

“And with that pay we’ve been getting people leaving have not been replaced.

“So the people left behind have to do more.”

A spokesman from the trust said 29 staff in total had walked out but services had not been affected.

A group of about 20 employees of West Midlands Ambulance Service (WMAS) also formed a picket line outside the city’s ambulance station on Spetchley Road, where paramedic Pete Green said he was pleased with the turnout.

“There’s been a lot of people beeping their horns as they drive past,” he said. “One guy even came in and gave us some sweets.”

He added a crew was on standby to respond to a Red One call – the most serious emergencies such as a cardiac arrest.

A spokesman from WMAS said about a third of staff due to work on Monday morning – about 150 people – had taken part in the strike. But he said it was “disappointing” appeals last week to avoid calling 999 except in genuinely life-threatening circumstances seemed to have been ignored, with calls were up 19 per cent during the strike period compared with last Monday.

Meanwhile 19 staff working at Worcestershire Health and Care NHS Trust – which runs the majority of mental health and other non-emergency services in the county – protested outside the Aconbury East Building in Newtown Road.

Among them was mental health nurse Jackie Oliver, who said: “It’s not just about pay.

“It’s about the government undermining the NHS and everything the NHS stands for.”

Conservative MP for Worcester Robin Walker said he understood the concerns of those who had decided to go on strike but said it was “a shame” they felt they had no alternative but to walk out.

“I have great sympathy and admiration for NHS staff, particularly those who are on low wages,” he said. “I have written to the health secretary to support a pay rise in the past.

“I am not saying they don’t deserve a pay rise but my understanding is the government has taken this decision based on advice from the NHS that if it was to apply a pay rise across the board it would result in job losses.

“It’s a good thing the government has pledged to invest more money in the NHS.”

Labour’s parliamentary candidate for Worcester Cllr Joy Squires joined Worcestershire Health and Care NHS Trust employees on the picket lines on Monday morning and said she was urging the government to reconsider its decision not to apply the pay rise across the board.

“The independent pay review body recommended a one per cent pay rise across the board and the government rejected that,” she said.

“The majority of people who are taking strike action are on very low pay anyway.

“They deserve a pay rise.”

Later in the day Cllr Squires reiterated her support for the striking workers in a post on Facebook.

“This morning I stood alongside people who are dedicated to their work and to their profession, she wrote.

“They work long, hard hours to provide life-saving services, often going the extra mile to make sure patients get the help they need.”

Action will continue to take place throughout this week, with many staff participating in a work-to-rule, refusing to work any voluntary overtime or carry out any tasks they are not contractually required to do.