NURSES at York Hospital are angry at the prospect of a new rota system which they say will make it impossible for them to organise childcare while they are at work.

The electronic rostering system, which the hospital began implementing last year, is to be trialled for four weeks on a number of wards, though health bosses warn “some staff will need to be more flexible with their working patterns”.

Nursing unions have questioned the move and said staff should have been consulted on the changes.

A spokesman for the Royal College of Nursing said: “The new rotas will affect front-line nurses, especially those with young families or carer responsibilities. “Staff are suddenly faced with having to re-juggle their busy working lives and family commitments with little or no notice. “This is unreasonable and staff are rightly upset. The RCN will be contacting the trust urgently.”

One member of nursing staff who contacted The Press anonymously, said: “The changes take effect on October 16. No consultation has taken place with the nurses or unions about these changes.

“Before this, most nurses chose shifts that fitted their child care arrangements, for example nights only or weekends only. Wards allowed a few changes per month to nurses.

“This e-shift system does away with all this, thereby causing a lot of hassle for nurses and their respective nursery or childminders.” Following a meeting between union representatives and York Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, a joint statement was issued saying the new system was used in a majority of trusts because it “enables more efficient rostering of staff as well as less nursing time spent on the creation of rotas”.

The trust said: “The system is being rolled out and to date over 1,300 staff in the trust have their rotas created using the e-rostering system. “The trust is undertaking a four- week review with three wards which have been using e-rostering for some time.

“It is hoped that this will help us better understand how best to balance individuals’ requests for flexible work patterns and the need to have the right number of staff in place with the right skills to safely cover our wards. “Individuals’ contractual terms and conditions will not be affected, but it is anticipated that some staff will need to be more flexible with their working patterns.

“The trust will work with staff and union colleagues to evaluate this review and we will work in partnership to ensure that we continue to use our resources as effectively as possible.”