- By Nick Triggle and Victoria Bourne
- BBC News
April 10, 2023
Updated 20 minutes ago
A four-day strike by junior doctors across England just after the Easter holidays is putting patients at “greater risk”, says Health Secretary Steve Barclay.
More than a quarter of a million appointments and surgeries have been canceled in the strike that began this morning.
The British Medical Association is calling for a 35% pay rise.
But the government says that’s an unreasonable demand.
Mr Barclay accused organizers of timing the strike just after the Easter Bank Holiday weekend – a time when the NHS is already facing increased demand and greater absence from staff – “to maximize disruption”.
The BMA said there were plans to pull doctors off picket lines when lives were in imminent danger. According to trade union law, life and limb must be insured.
The young doctors’ approach contrasts with recent strikes by nurses and ambulance workers, in which unions agreed to lay off certain emergency services.
But doctors say they are striking for both patient safety and pay, and say current pay levels are hurting hiring and causing many doctors to leave the profession.
dr Emma Runswick, deputy leader of the BMA, said they hope this round of industrial action will be the last – but “we will carry on” if the government doesn’t budge.
She narrated to BBC One’s Breakfast. “This is not a situation where we are fixed in our position. We’re looking for negotiations and Steve Barclay isn’t even willing to talk to us.
“He didn’t put any offer on the table at all. If we want to start a negotiation, there have to be two sides in the discussion.”
Mr Barclay said he had hoped to start formal salary negotiations with the BMA last month but said their demand for a 35% pay rise was unfair and would result in some young doctors “getting over a £20,000 pay rise”.
Are you a resident in view of the strike? Are you an affected patient? Share your experiences via email [email protected].
As the strike began on Tuesday morning, Mr Powis issued a warning on BBC Radio 4’s Today program, warning that it “will take weeks” to recover from the strikes as “services will undoubtedly be affected”.
More than 175,000 treatments and appointments were canceled during last month’s three-day strike by young doctors.
But Prof Sir Stephen added that “considerably more” cancellations were to be expected this time due to the four-day strike. Another top NHS figure estimates between 250,000 and 350,000 appointments and surgeries could be cancelled.
Mental health services and some GPs are also expected to be affected, while the NHS said it would prioritize maintaining critical care, maternity, newborn care and trauma surgery.
dr Vivek Trivedi, co-chair of the BMA Junior Medical Committee, advised people to keep calling 999 if they had a life-threatening illness because “the service is operating normally and we have prioritized emergencies”.
The patients remained in abeyance
dr Paul Turnbull, 61, of Hampshire, who is an occupational physician, needs a femoral prosthesis to be implanted in his leg.
Twice his operation was canceled – once in December because he developed deep vein thrombosis, and the second time because of the first youth strike. The operation is now scheduled to take place on April 18, after the four-day strike.
He has limited mobility and is unable to work.
“As a doctor, I don’t think doctors should go on strike. I think our first responsibility is with our patients and I think using patients as pawns in a dispute with the government is not something we should be doing.”
The neuroscientist Dr. Camilla Hill, 42, from Nottingham, is affected. She canceled two knee surgeries – one this week and one in March – because of the young doctors’ strike. She has now scheduled a third date for April 25th.
She was no longer able to engage in some of her favorite hobbies, including hiking and sailing, partly because of the pain in her knees.
“I’m really frustrated. It messed me up, it messed up my employer, it messed up my husband — and it messed up his employer too. Not only the patient whose surgery was canceled is affected, but everyone around them.”
Junior doctors say their demand for a 35% pay rise is to compensate for wage increases that have been 15 years below inflation.
But the government said the wage demand was unrealistic, citing the deal other health unions – representing nurses and other workers – have recommended to their members, which includes a 5% pay rise and a one-off payment of at least £1,655.
More than 40% of the medical staff are considered residents, two-thirds of whom are members of the BMA.
The term junior physicians encompasses those fresh out of medical school to those who have a decade of experience behind them.
“Burdened to the limit” – junior doctors
Rabiat is in her third year of junior training and works in a hospital in south-east England.
She plans to go on strike this week and says it’s about safety as well as pay.
“It is quite common for young doctors to be left with patient wards to attend to while their seniors have gone to, for example, the emergency room or an acute examination area.
“We really feel left out and unsupported. Not because our seniors don’t want to support us, but because we all reach our limits.
“I really hope that the strikes make it clear to the government that this is having a really big impact on junior doctors – and the NHS as a whole – and indeed more needs to be done.”
Additional reporting by Sean Seddon and Rachel Russell.
Are you a resident in view of the strike? Are you an affected patient? Share your experiences via email [email protected].
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