By CAROLINE WILSON

HUNDREDS of NHS staff in Glasgow are locked in a pay battle with Scotland’s biggest health board.

Health workers union Unison has lodged 240 grievances with NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde on behalf of nursing auxiliaries and healthcare support workers who want their roles re-graded.

The union say staff shortages, budget cuts and a series of redesign programmes have resulted in many band 2 nursing assistants taking on ‘clinical’ duties such as taking blood samples and blood pressure checks.

The union has already secured a pay rise for 100 nurse assistants across NHSGGC in a testing phase which saw workers in Theatres and Acute Wards win re-grading claims.

Eleanor Harvey, CVS Branch Vice Chair for Unison said: “When the NHS pay and grading scheme was implemented it made a clear distinction between nursing staff who carried out ‘personal care’ and nursing staff who carried out a ‘range of clinical duties’.

“Since then staff shortages, budget cuts and a series of redesign programmes have resulted in many Band 2 Nurse Assistants taking on ‘clinical’ duties such as taking bloods, blood pressures, cardiac readings, escorting patients and writing in patient notes.

“All of these tasks and more, carry significant additional responsibilities and our members are entitled to maximise their pay.”