Junior doctors’ strike costing cash-strapped hospitals millions of pounds per day to cover shifts

HOSPITALS are spending millions of pounds per day covering striking ­junior doctors’ shifts.

Consultants are being drafted in at rates costing ten times more than usual.

It is further draining budgets that were already under the cosh.

Thousands of British Medical Association (BMA) junior doctors walked out for the third time last week.

It caused “enormous disruption” as they continue to demand a 35 per cent pay rise.

A Sun probe found 54 out of 126 major NHS hospital trusts paid a combined £32.5million to cover shifts over seven days of strikes in March and April.

Data from 25 reveal the wage bill was £10.5million more than if junior doctors had worked.

The true cost across England could be five times higher, with an excess bill of around £50million — or £7million a day.

Tory MP Paul Bristow, a member of the Commons health committee, slammed the costs as “unacceptable”.

He said: “At a time when public spending is at a record high, and the NHS is accounting for an ever increasing amount of it, the idea that junior doctors can shrug their shoulders at money like this being wasted beggars belief.

“Their demand for a completely unreasonable 35 per cent is not only risking patients’ lives, it’s costing our NHS vital funding that could go towards patients.”

Junior doctors are paid £47,000 per year on average, equal to £180 per day.

Some hospitals have to use consultants who can demand a junior’s day rate every hour.

Agency workers, locum doctors and bank staff are also being paid to pick up the slack.

Seven days of extra labour has hit some trusts with bills up to £1.3million, Freedom of Information requests revealed.

University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay said it would have expected to spend £64,000 on paying the junior doctors who walked out on the three days in March and four days in April.

But the cost of covering industrial action sent its bill for the same hours rocketing to £845,000.

London North West University NHS Trust had one of the biggest bills, with £1.6million spent on shift cover.

A spokesperson said: “We respect junior doctors’ right to strike but, as one of the larger hospital trusts in the country, it leaves a considerable gap that we have to fill to maintain both the safety and quality of our services. This comes at a price.”

Saffron Cordery, chief of NHS Providers, said: “The strikes are eating into limited NHS resources at a time when focus needs to be on cutting care backlogs.

“They’re also draining money. 

“Leaders’ top priority is keeping patients safe, but this is expensive during an all-out strike by junior doctors as more senior colleagues are drafted in to provide cover.  

“Trust leaders are now having to raid budgets intended for patient care and service improvement to meet these costs.”

Dr Rob Laurenson, a leader at the BMA, last week threatened to lead his members to an “indefinite withdrawal of labour” if they don’t get the cash they want.

The union plans to ballot its members again this month to extend the strike mandate into 2024 and keep the misery going.

Labour’s shadow health secretary, Wes Streeting, said: “Rishi Sunak’s refusal to negotiate with junior doctors is costing the NHS dear.”

A BMA spokesperson said: “This data shows it would be far more cost-effective for hospitals and the NHS in the long run – not just on strike days – for the Government to end this dispute by paying doctors what they are worth. 

“At a time when we’re vastly short of doctors, it would help keep more working in the NHS, reduce rota gaps and end the reliance on expensive agencies. 

“When doctors do go on strike, it’s right that those providing cover are paid appropriately, recognising that, in many cases, it will be for work additional to their already heavy contractual duties.”