HEALTHCARE assistants working for Warrington and Halton Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust have called off further strikes after winning a significant pay victory.

For years, the workers regularly performed clinical duties outside their pay band, such as taking blood tests, cannulation and wound dressings.

The Unison union, which represents the healthcare assistants, said that they were being used as “nurses on the cheap.”

Following nine days of industrial action, the trust was forced to meet workers’ demands and offered the healthcare assistants a higher pay grade, with back pay to April 2018.

Unison regional organiser Dan Smith said that healthcare assistants at Warrington and Halton “have been going above and beyond for years by undertaking clinical duties above their pay band to deliver exceptional patient care.

“Securing back pay up to April 2018 is no less than these dedicated health workers deserve and it shows what can be achieved when workers come together in their trade union to demand change.”