Routine hospital care grinds to a halt as senior doctors begin 48-hour strike
Routine hospital care will come to a standstill in England from today as senior doctors start a 48-hour strike.
The Government has refused to meet consultants since they balloted to strike so action will start from 7am today until the same time on Saturday. Coming at the height of summer and in the days before a Bank Holiday hospital bosses fear it will cause major disruption.
As the strike began on Thursday, the BMA announced plans for a three-day walkout later in the year. Consultants will strike again on October 2, 3 and 4.
Sir Julian Hartley, chief executive of NHS Providers, said: "A two-day strike by senior doctors just before a bank holiday weekend and when many staff are on well-deserved summer holidays is a massive headache for the NHS. The Government and unions must find a solution urgently.”
Consultants in the British Medical Association are striking after seeing the real terms pay drop by a third under the Tories. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak offered a below-inflation 6% rise this year and issued a “take it or leave it” ultimatum. In a written parliamentary answer Health Minister Will Quince revealed that ministers had not met with BMA consultants since 27 March.
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Shadow Health Secretary Wes Streeting, who submitted the question, said: “The Conservatives have given up any attempt to solve strikes in the NHS. Rishi Sunak refuses to speak to doctors, and instead shamelessly uses them as an excuse for his failure to cut waiting lists. We need a government that will treat NHS staff with respect, open its door for talks, and bring these strikes to an end.”
A fifth strike by junior doctors recently saw a further 61,200 hospital appointments postponed, taking the total axed due to industrial action 839,327. Further consultant strikes are planned on September 19 and 20.
Danny Mortimer, deputy chief executive of NHS Confederation, which represents NHS leaders, said: “With strike action backing onto a bank holiday weekend, this round will again have a significant impact on patients. Demand at A&E departments is usually higher on bank holiday weekends, but this combined with operating a Christmas Day level of service in the runup, means that increased pressures will in many places mean patients will be faced with severe delays. All sides must do whatever it takes to avert the further walkout planned by consultants for September and prevent the NHS from reaching the grim milestone of one million cancelled operations.”
Patients who haven’t been contacted or informed that their planned appointment has been postponed are also urged to attend as normal.
Junior doctors have already taken strike action over pay (Getty Images)Dr Vishal Sharma, BMA consultants committee chair, said: “No consultant wants to be striking so we head out to picket lines today with heavy hearts. The waiting lists can only be brought down by recruiting and retaining doctors. This starts with valuing them properly – not by subjecting them to further real-terms pay cuts, as the Government did last month. By refusing to talk to us – and it’s now been 150 days since the Health Secretary met with us – it just shows that the Government is not serious about the NHS, its workforce or patients.
“We are striking today, and will do so again in September and October, but the Prime Minister has the power to avert any action at all, by getting around the table and presenting us with a credible offer. Consultants are clear that they’re prepared to take regular action and politicians must be left in no doubt that our dispute will not go away simply because they refuse to negotiate. We will not be ignored.”
It comes as the NHS in England has a record 7.5 million appointment waiting list that is still growing. It had already reached record levels before the Covid-19 pandemic but has since almost doubled.
Health Secretary, Steve Barclay, said: “I am concerned and disappointed that the BMA has gone ahead with this industrial action which will continue to affect patients and hamper efforts to cut NHS waiting lists. This pay award is final and I urge the BMA to call an end to strikes.”
The NHS is advising people to continue to use 999 in life-threatening emergencies and NHS 111 online for other health concerns. GP services and pharmacies are also available for patients and can be accessed in the normal way.
NHS England medical director for secondary care Dr Vin Diwakar said: “This latest action will again hit the NHS hard, with almost all routine care being affected. It also comes at a time when many staff are taking annual leave, so teams are already stretched, and some parts of the country have seen warm weather this week, which usually leads to an additional rise in demand for services, so we would ask people to take the usual precautions.
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“We are working closely with unions to ensure we prioritise urgent and emergency care for patients, as ever, but there is no doubt that it becomes harder each time to bring routine services back on track following strikes, and the cumulative effect after nearly nine months for patients, staff and the NHS as a whole is enormous.”
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