AN NHS trust was urged to resolve a 100-day-old blood specialists’ strike today.

Health union Unison said that 37 phlebotomists — who specialise in taking patient blood samples — have been put on the wrong NHS pay band and began industrial action in March.

The blood specialists took their 100th day of strike action today in a long-running row over pay.

They want to be regraded and given back pay to cover the extra duties they have been doing for years at Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (GHNFT), a union spokesman said.

Unison said none of the more than 60 trusts and boards in England and Wales it has agreed similar deals with has allowed a dispute to drag on for as long as GHNFT.

The union’s head of health Helga Pile said: “Gloucestershire is looking like a rogue employer in its determination to go to any length to avoid paying staff fairly.

“The bizarre and counterproductive approach adopted by senior executives at Gloucestershire is not only out of step with the rest of the NHS, but it clearly isn’t working either.

“The phlebotomists haven’t taken 100 days of strike action on a whim. They don’t want special treatment. They just want to be paid correctly for the valuable jobs they do. 

“NHS trusts up and down the country are doing the right thing by paying their staff properly for the work they do and giving them compensation for when they weren’t on the correct rate. 

“There’s no reason why NHS workers in Gloucestershire should settle for any less than the thousands of employees who’ve already seen their pay improved thanks to their efforts and the union’s campaign.”

GHNFT was contacted for comment.