Physios speak of pay fears as they embark on strike outside hospitals

Members of the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy (CSP) were pictured on the picket line outside Nottingham's Queen's Medical Centre on Thursday

Thousands of physiotherapists - including staff in the East Midlands - have embarked on their first strike action over pay.

Staff are picketing outside hospitals in Derby and Nottingham on Thursday due to a dispute over pay and staff retention.

Union leader Jim Fahie, who is at the Royal Derby Hospital, said physios were exceptionally concerned.

The Department of Health and Social Care has been contacted for a comment.

Staff have also taken action in Derby

Mr Fahie, the assistant director for employment relations and union services at the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy (CSP), said action was planned at 30 trusts around the country.

He said: "Ultimately we know we are causing disruption but unless we stand up and start to take action, I am exceptionally concerned that we will not be able to recruit new members of staff, we will not be able to retain staff and ultimately the system will grind to a halt.

"If we look back to 2010 and compare that to now, actual take-home pay has reduced in real terms."

The CSP said the government's pay award was less than half the rate of inflation and the NHS was experiencing a "workforce crisis" that was damaging members' ability to deliver high-quality care.

One physiotherapist said concerns over pay had hit junior colleagues, with many having to use food banks

Members of the CSP gathered outside the Queen's Medical Centre (QMC) in Nottingham on Thursday.

Greg Stretton, a 41-year-old team leader for the respiratory medicine physiotherapist service at the Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, which runs the QMC, carried a sign saying "Constant Staffing Problems".

He told the PA News agency that his team should have 18 staff but usually has about 14, and it has at times dropped to as low as six.

"People are just genuinely burnt out, and my team has noticed the impact of that," he said.

"We were having people in our office cry on a daily basis, just from being at work and the stresses of being work amid untenable pressures, patient demands and service demands."

Concerns over staffing have been escalated to local health bosses

Also on the picket line was Hayley Kidger, a senior oncology physiotherapist.

The 36-year-old said issues over pay had affected her junior colleagues, with many having to use food banks.

She said in one week, nine of her 18-strong team cried at work due to stress.

This inspired her to write a letter to the trust's board last November, outlining the pressures that physiotherapist teams are under.

She added: "Why would you come here, and put your heart and soul on the line to save someone's life and hold their hand when they're dying, when you can get paid more to run a Tesco?"

A Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust spokesperson said: "The trust has thanked colleagues and have been responsive to the concerns they have raised."