Junior doctors in England have begun a fresh four-day strike over pay – their most disruptive yet, according to health leaders.
Members of the British Medical Association (BMA) have walked out until 7:00am on Saturday morning (15 April), which could see the cancellation of more than a quarter of a million appointments and operations so that urgent and emergency care can be prioritised.
The BMA claims junior doctors have seen a 26% erosion in their real-terms pay over the past 15 years. They are calling for a 35% pay rise.
Matthew Taylor, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, said this was the most significant and disruptive junior doctors strike the NHS has ever had to manage.
He said: “Health leaders understand why junior doctors feel they have no choice but to take part in these latest walkouts but they are disappointed to be in this worrying situation where patients will have to wait longer for care and where basic safety will be compromised.
“As we’ve seen with other forms of industrial action, a period of negotiation is likely to happen eventually – it’s just a question of when and how much damage will be caused along the way. Health leaders want both sides to do everything within their power to find some common ground as soon as possible.”
The BMA has today launched an advertising campaign that highlights how little junior doctors are paid for their roles in surgical procedures. Three doctors with ten, seven and one-years experience are pictured in an operating theatre where an appendix is being removed. For the procedure, which lasts about an hour, they would earn £28, £24.46, and £14.09 respectively, the advert claims.
Dr Robert Laurenson and Dr Vivek Trivedi, BMA junior doctors committee co-chairs, said in a statement: “This is highly skilled work requiring years of study and intensive training in a high-pressure environment where the job can be a matter of life and death.
“Why then has the government allowed junior doctor pay to be cut in real terms by over a quarter in the last 15 years? Why do ministers not understand that only by valuing and retaining NHS staff will the NHS be able to deliver the high-quality healthcare it once could?
“That is why this week they are striking to be paid what they are worth. As we have made clear in our latest offer to begin talks – we are always ready to talk and [health secretary] Mr Barclay can stop the strikes at any time if he proposes a credible offer.”
In a statement, Steve Barclay said the strike was “extremely disappointing” and accused the BMA of using the weekend’s bank holidays to their advantage.
“Not only will the walkouts risk patient safety, but they have also been timed to maximise disruption after the Easter break,” he said.
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He added that he had hoped to begin “formal pay negotiations” with the doctors’ union but that “its demand for a 35% pay rise is unreasonable”. Such a pay rise would result in some doctors receiving a pay rise of “over £20,000”, he said.
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