NHS states they can’t take anymore as junior doctors strike
Junior doctors in England have launched their fifth round of industrial action today, with thousands striking after just receiving their NHS jobs.
The British Medical Association (BMA) – the union which represents junior doctors – launched their latest strike action at 7am this morning and it is due to last until 7am next Tuesday. This could result in the total number of appointments cancelled due to NHS industrial action hitting one million.
Against this backdrop, the latest figures revealed to show that inflation shockingly came down in June do display that NHS strikes have added to the fact that they aren’t falling quickly.
The strike action also comes less than 24 hours after research revealed the waiting list of people awaiting treatment had climbed to a record high of 7.6 million.
Sir Julian Hartley, the chief executive of NHS Providers, said hospital cancellations could hit a million after strikes by junior doctors and consultants in August.
‘Trusts and staff are pulling out all the stops to reduce waiting times for patients but with no end to strikes in sight the sheer volume of planned treatment being put back due to industrial action will make it almost impossible for trusts to cut waiting lists as much as the government wants,’ Sir Hartley said.
In addition some junior doctors have involved themselves in strike action after having started their roles within the NHS just nine days ago.
Dr Raymond Effah, who has just begun his first placement, said: ‘When I chose medicine as my career, never did I imagine my second week in the job would see me going on strike. The government may not see the value of myself and my doctor colleagues, but we do, leaving us no choice but to strike.
‘As a medical student I have now gone through a pandemic, a cost-of-living crisis, and now have student debts of almost £100,000. Even with the 10% pay uplift, I’m still starting in a job where real-terms pay has eroded by more than a quarter.
‘That is why first-year doctors are going on strike today even though we have barely begun. It is for our future in this profession.’
However, Rishi Sunak has claimed that no more pay negotiations with junior doctors will take place. The Prime Minister said the 10% pay offer was the ‘final offer’ and there would be ‘no more talks on pay’.
The NHS Confederation has called the government’s ‘business as usual’ approach to strike action ‘dangerous’ and urged it to reopen talks with doctors.
Image: Cezar Sampaio
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