Do you support junior doctors going on strike? Vote in our poll
Junior doctors across England have begun a five-day strike in what has been described as the “longest single walkout by doctors in the NHS’s history” - amid ongoing disputes over pay and working conditions.
Tens of thousands of NHS appointments and operations are expected to be cancelled as a result of the British Medical Association (BMA) walkout, while the total waiting list in England stands at a record 7.4 million appointments.
Around 600,000 NHS appointments have already been cancelled or postponed due to industrial action by doctors, nurses and other healthcare workers in recent months.
Junior doctors took to picket lines at 7am this morning after the BMA rejected a five percent pay award offered by the Tories, who are now refusing to negotiate.
This comes as the BMA continues to campaign for pay restoration, with the union stating junior doctors in England have seen a 26 per cent real-terms pay cut since 2008/09 because pay rises have been below inflation.
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The union are calling for a full pay restoration that the government said would amount to a 35 percent pay rise - which ministers have said is unaffordable.
Health Secretary Steve Barclay said: “It is disappointing that the BMA is going ahead with further strike action. This five-day walkout by junior doctors will have an impact on thousands of patients, put patient safety at risk and hamper efforts to cut NHS waiting lists.”
He added: “If the BMA shows willingness to move significantly from their current pay demands and cancels these damaging and disruptive strikes, we can get around the table to find a fair deal to resolve this dispute.” Mr Barclay described the current pay demand as “unreasonable”, and says it risks fuelling inflation, which makes everyone poorer.
Dr Robert Laurenson and Dr Vivek Trivendi, who chair the BMA's junior doctors committee, said: “The Government has missed chance after chance to provide a credible offer and potentially bring to an end the industrial action by junior doctors in England.
“We can call this strike off today if the UK Government will simply follow the example of the government in Scotland and drop their nonsensical precondition of not talking whilst strikes are announced and produce an offer which is credible to the doctors they are speaking with.”
Junior doctors took to picket lines at 7am on Thursday morning (PA)The pair described the inflexibility of the government as “baffling, frustrating, and ultimately destructive for everyone who wants waiting lists to go down and NHS staffing numbers to go up.”
Junior doctors in Scotland called off strikes this week after a new pay deal guaranteed three years of above inflation rises including a 12.4 percent increase for 2023/24.
Meanwhile, NHS England medical director Professor Sir Stephen Powis said: “While staff continue to work hard to provide patients with the care they need, the next strike is the longest and most disruptive yet.
“Our staff are doing all they can, but we cannot continue like this – action is having a major impact for patients in need of routine care, and an increasing effect on NHS services and our hard-working staff as they try to maintain services and address a record backlog.”
The strike started at 7am on Thursday, July 13 and will run until 7am on Tuesday, July 18. Do you support the junior doctors? Vote in our poll to have your say. Let us know which couple you voted for and why in the .
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