PAY BATTLE
Patient safety ‘at risk’ as 30,000 NHS junior doctors walk out in four-day strike
DOCTORS go on strike again today in a “catastrophic” walkout that will put patients in danger.
Brits have been urged to “avoid risky behaviour” as around 30,000 junior doctors from the British Medical Association (BMA) down tools until Saturday in a pay row.
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Health chiefs warn it will be the worst strike in NHS history, with wards and clinics dangerously short-staffed and 350,000 appointments and operations facing cancellation.
Some hospitals have postponed three quarters of planned work to cover emergencies and life-saving care – meaning efforts to clear the backlog are on ice.
Professor Sir Stephen Powis, national medical director for the NHS in England, said: “This is going to be the most disruptive period of strike action that we’ve seen this winter, probably the most disruptive period of action in NHS history.
“A few weeks ago, when we had three days of strike action by junior doctors, we saw over 175,000 appointments and procedures having to be rescheduled, so my expectation is that we will see more and perhaps considerably more than that this time.
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“Our focus has been on providing cover for absent junior doctors – they make up to half of the medical workforce – so consultants will be doing that along with other members of staff," he told Radio Times.
Matthew Taylor, of the NHS Confederation, said: “These strikes are going to have a catastrophic impact on the capacity of the NHS to recover services.
“There's no point hiding the fact that there will be risks to patient safety and patient dignity.
“Obviously if you have a medical emergency you need to call 999, but if you have a concern then there's 111, there's the NHS website – try to use the NHS in the most responsible way you can.
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“Try to avoid risky behaviour, because the NHS is not going to be able to provide the level of care that we want to provide.”
In the last strike, in March, an average 28,708 staff were off and 60,350 appointments were postponed on each of the three days.
Miriam Deakin, from NHS Providers, said bosses are “deeply worried” and the NHS gets especially busy after the Easter bank holidays.
She added: “Not only do we expect to see thousands of appointments rescheduled, leaders are talking about the extreme pressure that we might see on critical and life-preserving services.”
Epsom and St Helier Hospitals in Surrey said it expects “major disruption”.
Kingston Hospital in London said 75 per cent of outpatient appointments have been postponed and A&E will be “particularly busy” and prioritising the sickest patients.
University Hospitals Southampton said: “Please only visit the emergency department if your situation is life or limb threatening.”
Some GPs will be slashing appointment numbers due to a lack of medical staff, with pharmacists drafted in to help with minor conditions.
As patients suffer, ministers and the BMA are still at loggerheads over pay.
The BMA wants a 35 per cent boost to “restore” junior doctors’ salaries, which range from £29,000 to £58,000.
Junior doctors have had “absolutely nothing” from the Health Secretary regarding pay negotiations, the deputy chairwoman of the BMA Council said.
Dr Emma Runswick told BBC Breakfast: “We’re not the side with the power here to start negotiations – we’ve been asking for literally months.
“At any point, Steve Barclay could have entered negotiations with us.
“None of us want to be on strike here… we’re looking for the Government to move but we will continue, our mandate is incredibly strong.”
Dr Emma added: “We have to keep taking action until we can reverse the pay cuts, reverse the workforce trends that are really damaging our service, damaging our care to patients, and fix the situation in the NHS.”
Health Secretary Steve Barclay called the demand “unreasonable”.
He said: “This would result in some junior doctors receiving a pay rise of over £20,000.
“If the BMA is willing to move significantly from this position and cancel strikes we can resume confidential talks and find a way forward, as we have done with other unions.”
The BMA launched a new campaign pointing out that doctors may receive as little as £14.09 for working on a “highly skilled” appendix removal operation.
Dr Vivek Trivedi, a junior doctors’ leader in the union, said: “We don’t want to have to go on strike, we want to be able to sort this out reasonably.
“All Mr Barclay has to do is put a credible offer on the table which shows he is serious about addressing the more than 26 per cent real-terms pay cut that doctors have endured.”
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Mr Barclay added: “It is extremely disappointing the BMA has called strike action for four consecutive days.
“Not only will the walkouts risk patient safety, but they have also been timed to maximise disruption after the Easter break.”
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