STROUD midwives are joining a national strike today by NHS staff over fair pay.

Midwives from Stroud Maternity Hospital will be joining the picket line between 9.30am and 11.30pm on Monday, October 13.

It is part of a four-hour national strike which began at 7am this morning and marks the first time in 30 years NHS staff have taken part in industrial action. Campaign group Stroud Maternity Matters is supporting midwives in their strike today, Monday.

A statement from the group said: “We believe that the pay and working conditions of midwives is a vital part of their ability to care for women, and to provide support to them and their families.

“The fight for pay and working conditions to be improved is therefore something we wholeheartedly stand behind. “ SMM was originally set up to keep the maternity unit from being closed, but since then this remit has morphed into to a wider position of community support for the unit and the services it provides.

The maternity unit will stay open and will continue to care for women whilst the strike takes place.

Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is advising patients with an appointment to attend as usual unless they hear otherwise from hospital staff during the period of industrial action.

Contingency plans are in place to ensure that any disruption is kept to a minimum and that patient services continue to be delivered safely and consistently at Trust sites around the county including Cheltenham General Hospital, Gloucestershire Royal Hospital and Stroud Maternity Unit.

Emergency services will continue to be delivered, and the majority of planned appointments and procedures are due to go ahead.

Director of human resources and organisational development, Dave Smith, said: “We have been working closely with staff to ensure that the services we provide around the county continue to be delivered safely and as consistently as possible throughout the period of industrial action.

“It is our priority to ensure that both emergencies and inpatients receive high quality, safe care and treatment.

“We want to inform patients in advance that if they do have an appointment with any of our services across the county then please do attend this appointment as usual unless they hear from us to advise otherwise.”