Dear Board of Trustees at Great Ormond Street Hospital, 

As healthcare professionals we stand in solidarity with our colleagues at Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) as they demand conditions equal to other NHS employees.

As doctors, nurses, paramedics, pharmacists and everyone in the NHS work tirelessly to recover from the pandemic, we have increasingly had to defend ourselves against a shocking torrent of abuse - frequently involving physical violence. Security guards are increasingly asked to put their own safety on the line to protect us, and they are often our only defence against abuse and harm.

Like everyone else in the NHS, security guards have worked long and hard hours throughout the pandemic, have kept their colleagues safe and have also, like so many of us, taken on extended duties far outside their usual roles. They deserve our gratitude, respect and solidarity.

Yet it seems these colleagues are being subjected to second tier contractual treatment at GOSH, one of the NHS’ leading hospital trusts. Despite their crucial role, their courage and dedication, they are now the last group of workers at GOSH outsourced and denied basic NHS employment conditions and protections.

They are now demanding full NHS pay and terms and conditions, including annual leave, sick pay, parental leave and career progression structures in line with those afforded to their NHS colleagues. These are the building blocks of equality and dignity, and they are the most basic and reasonable terms to expect when working in the NHS.

We recognise that GOSH is an outstanding hospital. It has cared for some of the country’s sickest children for nearly 160 years. It represents much of what is great about our NHS, providing truly world class treatment to all who need it, free at the point of care. Further, we note GOSH holds itself to its own set of core values, enshrined in “Always” statements.

Sadly, in its treatment of security workers, GOSH is failing on its own terms. “Always one team” is a core value of the trust. “One team” should surely mean equal employment rights, including for the hospital’s lowest paid workers.

GOSH’s security guards are mostly BAME. In June 2020, GOSH committed to do more to challenge racism and discrimination, and to “amplify the voice of BAME colleagues”. Yet in the case of its security guards, BAME voices have spoken. And far from being amplified, they have so far been roundly ignored by the hospital’s management.

So they have been left with two options: either accept that as a group of mostly BAME workers, they are treated as second tier employees, denied parental leave, annual leave, redundancy pay and overtime; or make their voices heard through industrial action for their entirely reasonable demands.

As their NHS colleagues, as committed anti-racists, and as believers in the core values that make our NHS great, we stand with them. We seek to amplify these colleagues’ voices, against discrimination, and for fair treatment, respect and dignity. In the NHS, we are always one team.

Signed,

Jackie Applebee   GP, Tower Hamlets
Myra Ariyaratnam Mental Health Nurse, NHS Lothian
Martin Blanchard Retired Clinical Senior Lecturer UCL / Consultant IFT
Nina Barbosa              Birmingham Women's and Children's Hospitals
Patrick Chappel          Junior Doctor
David Church       GP, Wales
James Crosbie            Consultant Surgeon, UCLH NHS Foundation Trust
Kathy Cruise                Retired Nurse
Erin Dexter                   Junior Doctor, North Middlesex University Hospital
Carolyn Emanuel        Lead Counsellor, Brent IAPT CNWL
Jonathan Fluxman Retired GP
Isky Gordon Emeritus Professor of Paediatric Imaging, UCL GOS Institute of Child Health
Theo Habbick Medical Student, Royal Alexandra Children’s Hospital
May Jay                       GP Principal
Anthony Johnson Registered Nurse and Lead Organiser, Nurses United UK
Rhiann Jiao Medical Student, UCL
Coral Jones                 Retired GP
David Kirby Retired GP
Anna Livingstone GP and Clinical Lead Substance Misuse, Tower Hamlets
Andrew Meyerson Clinical Fellow, Emergency Medicine
Saharla Musa Senior Staff Nurse, Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust
Muskan Kumari Medical Student, UCL
Maureen O’Leary Retired Consultant Psychiatrist
Shannon O'Floinn       Junior Doctor, Northwick Park Hospital
John Puntis Consultant Paediatrician, Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust
Katie Quirk                Medical Student, University of Sheffield
Simran Rogaly             Physician Associate
Kirat Rnadhaw             Social Prescribing Team, Sussex Community NHS Trust
Emma Runswick Junior Doctor, BMA Council Member
Maggie Palmer           Family Therapist, Lewisham CAMHS
Jolanda Schoon         Clinical Fellow, St George's Hospital
Katie Sheehan CaSH nurse, Brook Sexual Health
Jo Sutton-Klein Junior Doctor, Sheffield Teaching Hospitals
Lisa Walford                Nursing Sister, The Queen Elizabeth Hospital King's Lynn NHS Foundation Trust
John Withington Clinical Fellow, UCLH NHS Foundation Trust
Zofia Witkowska         Medical Student, UCL
Pam Wortley Retired GP