This week’s strike is the latest that has been called for by NHS staff, following walkouts by nurses, paramedics and others earlier this year demanding pay hikes that better reflect annual inflation running at more than 10% currently in the United Kingdom. File Photo.
London: Continuing their lingering dispute with the UK government, junior doctors in Britain kicked off a four-day agitation over unfair pay on Tuesday that is likely to cause unprecedented disruption to the state-funded National Health Service (NHS).
The government has also sounded an alarm warning the population of risks to patient safety.
Qualified junior doctors, running into thousands- who make up nearly half of the medical workforce in the United Kingdom — are striking for pay hikes to deal with rising inflation, in a walkout that follows a three-day doctors’ strike last month.
“This latest round of strikes will see unparalleled levels of disruption, and we are very concerned about the potential severity of impact on patients and services across the country,” NHS England National Medical Director Stephen Powis said.
“We’ve also asked (hospitals) to reschedule procedures and outpatients as quickly as possible but this will take weeks to recover from,” Powis told BBC, adding that the NHS was working to ensure emergency services remained functional.
The NHS Confederation, an apex body representing organisations across the healthcare sector has estimated that nearly 350,000 patient appointments may be cancelled during the four-day strike beginning Tuesday.
This week’s strike is the latest that has been called for by NHS staff, following walkouts by nurses, paramedics and others earlier this year demanding pay hikes that better reflect annual inflation running at more than 10% currently in the United Kingdom.
The four-day strike comes amid one of the worst crises in the NHS’s 75-year-history, with more than 7 million patients waiting for professional medical care.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has made cutting hospital waiting time one of his government’s major priorities amid eroding public satisfaction with the NHS.
The British Medical Association (BMA), the union representing doctors, wants a 35% pay rise, arguing that members have suffered a 26% real terms cut in pay over 15 years. The BMA has said the strikes by junior doctors, some of whom are very experienced, could be stopped if health minister Steve Barclay put a credible pay offer on the table moving forward.
“Not only will the walkouts risk patient safety, but they have also been timed to maximize disruption after the Easter break,” Barclay said in a statement. The BMA’s demands are unreasonable and would mean an increase of more than 20,000 pounds for some doctors, he said.
The doctors have joined thousands of other public sector workers who have gone on strike in Britain, including railway staff, teachers and civil servants this year.
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