We have a responsibility to patients - this is a hospital, not a widget factory

Steve Nightingale, Interserve

Interserve employs 275 catering, portering, switchboard operation and cleaning at the hospital, although not all are union members.

A union spokesman said possible industrial action over the coming weeks could entail strikes, overtime bans and a strict work-to-rule.

He said a series of talks with Interserve since last December had failed to reach agreement.

'No progress'

Robin Moss, Unison's head of health for the northern region, said: "We have found it extremely difficult to negotiate with this private company.

"Our members are extremely frustrated after months of no progress.

"While we regret the need to take industrial action, and the effects it could have within the hospital, we have absolutely no other option, because the employers will not negotiate sensibly."

Interserve general manager Steve Nightingale said the company was still waiting for detailed figures from the union showing how many people had taken place in the ballot.

The hospital is the first to be built under PFI

He said: "We have plans in place if there is a strike. We have a responsibility to patients - this is a hospital, not a widget factory.

"We pay a decent wage which matches that of NHS employees. "

He said talks would be held with the union on Wednesday 26 September, when the pay issue would be discussed.

The strike vote is the latest controversy to hit the hospital.

A report in July said there was a danger of serious bed blocking problems if improvements were not made in the way patients are treated and discharged.

The total number of beds in North Cumbria fell from 834 before the hospital was built, to 729 after it opened.

Operations cancelled

But the bed losses, according to the report, were supposed to be offset by reductions in admission rates and the length of time patients stayed in the hospital.

North Cumbria Health Authority and Cumbria County Council commissioned independent experts to investigate problems at the hospital earlier this year.

A rise in emergency admissions led to the hospital having to cancel urgent operations and meant patients in the casualty department were left on trolleys as they waited for treatment.

North Cumberland Acute Hospitals NHS Trust would not comment on the wage dispute.