Unison says hospital executives' plans include reducing the pay level of two out of every five higher-grade clinical support workers. Not only will this mean they earn less, but they will be unable to perform more complex tasks.

At present they are paid at band 3 of the NHS Agenda for Change pay scale, and are expected to carry out vital clinical tasks, such as taking blood, performing ECGs, inserting cannulas, and giving 1:1 supervision to patients with more complicated health issues.

However, under the new plans, they would be limited to carrying out personal care only, says Unison. That means there will be insufficient staff to deal with the day-to-day workload, 'piling more pressure on nurses and putting patients at risk', says the union.

Unison says many workers believe the changes are effectively a reprisal for strike action they began in 2023. That 61-day walkout resulted in clinical support staff being upgraded and given back pay for increased responsibilities they had taken on for many years.

Last week, staff handed in a formal grievance over the move to the trust, which recently declared a critical incident and had its emergency services and medical care downgraded by the CQC in May.

Unison North West regional organiser, David McKnight, said: ‘It's outrageous that frontline workers are facing these vicious attacks again, a year after the initial dispute was supposed to be settled. 

‘Staff feel the hospital executives are making an example of everyone who stood up and made the entirely reasonable demand to be paid fairly for the job they were doing.'

In response, a Wirral University Teaching Hospital spokesperson, said: ‘We are extremely disappointed by the comments from Unison. The trust has increased the number of CSW Band 3 staff by over 400 - an increase of 295% - in the last 12 months, uplifting 95% of staff from a Band 2 to a Band 3 in recognition of the clinical skill they have demonstrated. We also maintain our pledge to ensure that workers are paid appropriately for the work that they undertake.

‘Following the agreement with Unison last year, in which job descriptions for both the Band 2 and the Band 3 roles were agreed, we spoke to our CSWs to determine whether they wished to work at Band 3 or Band 2 level, undertaking the duties associated with that level. This information has been used by our senior nursing team to draft proposals in line with their wishes and national safe staffing standards.

‘The new staffing model reflects the significant increase in Clinical Support Workers working at Band 3 level, the trust also has further vacancies for Band 3 CSWs which it will be advertising in coming weeks. This staffing model not only increases the number of Band 3 Clinical Support Workers at the trust aligning them to the departments where their skills are needed, it also enables greater quality of care for our patients and effective use of resources.' 

The trust spokesperson added: 'We absolutely support all colleagues in speaking up and highlighting their concerns; of the three concerns raised, two were resolved within hours. We have paused plans to further implement the new staffing models until we have had opportunity to further understand their concerns. 

‘We remain committed to working in partnership with the union and our CSWs to address the concerns they have raised. We have a meeting planned with CSWs and Unison next week where we are confident that we can resolve this.'