Theatre staff at Medway Hospital will not strike in the new year.

The ballot closed today and despite more than 80% of those who voted wanting to strike, not enough people went to the ballot.

Unite regional officer, Kathy Walters, said: “Because of the draconian trade union legislation introduced by the Tories, we were not able to reach the strict ballot thresholds for industrial action that are now required, despite the majority who voted wanting to take such action in the New Year.

“We believe that democracy in the workplace is being throttled because these laws, which are some of the harshest in western Europe.

“However, the management of the Medway NHS Foundation Trust does recognise the Kent hospital faces a continuing ‘recruitment and retention’ crisis in the operating theatres.

“As a result, Unite and the trust management will meet in the New Year, under the auspices of Acas, the conciliation service, in a bid to resolve this dispute.

“Unite will be entering into these talks in a constructive fashion to seek a satisfactory resolution for the benefit of the patients that use the hospital and those dedicated staff that put in long hours to keep the NHS functioning 24/7.”

The ballot was being held following a break down in talks over rotas introduced on November 13 which changed the number of hours members of staff were working.

When Unite, the union backing hte theatre staff, announced a ballot was to be held,

Karen Rule director of nursing said the hospital was committed to continuing talks with staff.

She said: “We appreciate that any changes to working patterns can initially be disruptive to staff and want to support staff when these changes are made.

“To deliver this, we are committed to continuing the extensive engagement between management and staff that has characterised discussions on these issues to date.

“We hope that we will be able to both come to an agreement that will mean that we can provide the better care for patients that we are aspiring to deliver, will be acceptable to all parties and avoid disruption to the care of our patients through needless strikes.”

Medway Hospital has been contacted for further comment.