Unison claims East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust (ESNEFT) bosses put patient "safety at risk" by bringing in "untrained strike breakers" during last month's industrial action.

In a letter to ESNEFT chief executive Nick Hulme, the union highlights "serious concerns" about the trust's "reckless" decision which saw staff brought in from as far away as Manchester, Newcastle, and Hull on rates of up to £27 an hour.

Unison says this was an attempt to disrupt a five-day strike by cleaners, caterers, porters and other non-clinical support staff at Colchester Hospital and several other ESNEFT sites.

The strike breakers were support workers outsourced by the trust to OCS, a private company which runs facilities at Ipswich Hospital, the union claims.

In the letter, Unison says that the trust paid for the strike breakers to be put up in local hotels and to be bused to the hospital sites. These workers were paid £27 an hour for a night shift and £17 for a day shift, which is more than a newly qualified nurse.

OCS staff brought in by ESNEFT to cover portering roles were reportedly given just a two-hour induction for blood and oxygen monitoring duties, Unison claims.

When strikers returned to work they found milk and food left out past its use-by date rather than properly disposed of, which Unison says poses a risk to patient safety.

In addition, staff told the union they saw serious breaches of infection control procedures, including mixing clinical waste with regular rubbish and leaving it piled up in corridors.

More strikes are planned next week unless the trust abandons its outsourcing plans, says the union.

Sam Older, Unison Eastern regional organiser, said: ‘It's no surprise the trust has taken such a cavalier attitude to patient safety. There's overwhelming evidence that outsourcing leads to dirtier hospitals and higher infection rates, but trust bosses are ploughing on regardless.

‘Nick Hulme and the trust board can easily stop this disruption and protect patients, by keeping these essential NHS staff in the NHS where they belong.'

In response, a spokesperson for ESNEFT, said: ‘Many staff colleagues kindly volunteered to cover the roles of soft facilities management colleagues during the recent industrial action, after undergoing training to make sure we were able to provide essential cover for patients. Additional help was also sought from external partner organisations whose staff were also trained for the roles.

‘We recognise and uphold everyone's right to take industrial action and we are very grateful to all volunteers and employees of other organisations who put patient care first. Our colleagues have demonstrated kindness, compassion and care during this time.'