BURY'S top hospital doctors are backing industrial action by medical secretaries in protest at working conditions.

One consultant told the Bury Times that a number of his colleagues had written to Bury Health Care NHS Trust supporting the secretaries' overtime ban, which began last week.

"It is through sheer desperation our secretaries have had to take this action, and we understand why they have done it," said the doctor.

However, he stressed that the move would not affect patients' appointments, although he said it would increase paperwork for medical teams and GPs. He said: "The medical secretaries are very hard working and loyal. We have sent letters to management supporting them in what they are doing" he said.

Last week, theBury Times exclusively revealed the decision to take industrial action over the recruitment of support staff and the regrading of medical secretaries.

A memo to consultants stated: "This is the first step, and hopefully the only one required, to demonstrate to management our determination to continue our fight for long overdue re-grading and re-structuring, as has already happened in many other NHS Trusts.

"We are very unhappy at having to resort to this action but we feel that management has for too long relied on the goodwill and conscientiousness of the medical secretariat."

One secretary, who did not want to be named, said morale was "very low" and that Bury Health Care NHS Trust was having difficulties in recruiting.

Negotiations to improve working conditions, which started last October, were described as "fruitless".

A Trust spokesman said it was continuing discussions with the medical secretaries to resolve the "pressures on the service".