Operating theatre staff at Bedford Hospital have gone on strike again this week in a dispute over changes to overtime payments, with unions and the trust at odds over the impact on staffing and patient care.
Scope and immediate effect
The industrial action, confirmed by UNISON, began on Wednesday and is scheduled to continue through to Friday unless managers reinstate enhanced overtime rates. The union says teams at Bedford and the Luton and Dunstable hospitals will be involved in the walkouts.
The local NHS trust has warned that the planned action "will impact our services" and said arrangements are being put in place to maintain safe staffing. It emphasised that emergency, trauma and urgent maternity theatres will continue to run, but that some planned and elective procedures are likely to be delayed.
"This planned industrial action will impact our services, and our teams are working hard to finalise safe staffing and operational plans."
Cause of the dispute
At the heart of the dispute is a change made by Bedfordshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust in February, when it replaced time-and-a-half overtime payments with a flat rate for additional shifts. Staff who previously received enhanced pay for extra hours say they are now being asked to work for less.
UNISON's regional head of health described the decision as unacceptable and called for the trust to reverse the cut so staff can return to work. The union points to five days of industrial action already taken by theatre staff in the previous month.
Trust position and next steps
The trust acknowledged that some colleagues feel distressed by the changes but said the revisions followed a formal consultation and were intended to provide "fairness and consistency" across the workforce and to align pay with the national Agenda for Change framework. The trust also said it had sought derogations — requests to allow some urgent operations to proceed during strike days — and expressed concern that these were not supported by UNISON.
Leaders at the trust said they remain willing to meet with the union to discuss the matter and will continue to communicate directly with staff to explain the figures and pay rates behind the decision.
- Who is striking: Operating theatre staff at Bedford Hospital (also affecting Luton & Dunstable)
- When: Action began Wednesday and is scheduled until Friday
- Main demand: Reinstatement of enhanced overtime (previously time-and-a-half)
| Hospital | Action | Impact |
|---|---|---|
| Bedford Hospital | Operating theatre staff strike (Wed–Fri) | Planned surgeries likely delayed; emergency and urgent maternity to continue |
| Luton & Dunstable | Staff walkout also reported | Similar service disruption expected |
For Bedford residents this means that anyone with a non-urgent theatre date should expect possible rearrangement and to await direct contact from the trust. The dispute highlights ongoing tensions between workforce pay arrangements and service delivery pressures across the local NHS; resolving the disagreement will be crucial to reduce disruption to patients and to restore normal theatre schedules.
