PAY problems are plaguing mental health staff in York, with morale sinking to new levels according to one nurse.

The nurse, who has years of experience, but did not want to be named, said some of her colleagues working over Christmas and expecting to receive the extra payments for doing so in their January pay packet, but now had been told they would get the money with their February wages.

The pay delay comes after complaints that staff have not been paid correctly since the administration of the payroll for mental health nurses in York was handed over to a company called SBS, which is based in Southampton.

The nurse said morale at Bootham Hospital was now at rock bottom. She said: “People have literally not been getting paid.

“Staff worked in good faith over the Christmas period, but they are not going to be paid until February 28, rather than January 28. Staff are furious as some people knew about it and others didn’t.

“This amounts to a clear breach of trust. A lot of people are very, very angry.”

The nurse said wages used to go to Park House, behind the hospital, to be processed. If there was a problem staff were able to speak to someone face-to-face about the issue.

But she said it was now impossible to sort out problems with timesheets over the phone as they have to be sent back, which invariably leads to delays.

A spokeswoman for the primary care trust acknowledged there are issues and said it is trying to resolve them.

She said: “We are aware of on-going internal payroll issues and measures have again been put in place to make sure enhancement pay is processed as soon as possible.

“Earlier cut-off dates for receipt of enhancement pay forms were agreed through our staff-side representatives but, unfortunately, some forms either missed the deadlines or were submitted incorrectly.

“To help staff over the Christmas period we asked SBS to agree to an additional pay run so that additional monies cleared into bank accounts on January 5.

“We understand discrepancies in payments are frustrating for everyone involved and will therefore continue to work with managers and their teams to try and make sure these issues are resolved as soon as possible.”