Burnham “confident” of minimum strike disruption

Andy Burnham, health minister, has said contingency measures are in place to ensure the current UNISON strike causes minimum disruption.

Aimed to coincide with Labour’s annual conference, the union is protesting against DHL’s involvement with NHS logistical services, which the government hopes will make NHS savings.

The strike is thought to be the biggest national protest in the NHS for 20 years and began on Thursday when workers staged a walkout over the proposals for private funding.

However, Mr Burnham has said that measures are in place to ensure hospitals can cope with the strikes.

He told BBC Two’s Newsnight: “We are working to keep disruption to a minimum and we have put plans in place to ensure that hospitals can continue to get the supplies they need.

“Most hospitals will carry three days’ or more stock anyway so we are confident the disruption will be kept to a minimum.”

Mr Burnham also defended legislation for private funding in the NHS, commenting that as health minister it is his “primary duty” to “put as much money as possible” into patient care in hospitals.

A further strike from NHS Logistics staff is scheduled for next week’s Labour party conference in Manchester to make the government reconsider its ten-year contract with DHL.