Thousands of NHS appointments canceled as junior doctors strike

Thousands NHS Appointments in England expected to be canceled as junior doctors strike in dispute with Govt over payment.

The 72-hour walk by medics – who can have up to eight years’ experience as a hospital doctor or three years in general practice – will run from 7am on Wednesday to 7am on Saturday.

It comes as NHS chiefs have warned that the number of people seeking emergency care will rise if the UK continues to experience hot weather.

The strike is the second by junior doctors this year and is expected to cause massive disruption, with thousands of patients rescheduled for operations and appointments, while the NHS’s overall waiting list continues to grow.

There were also staffing concerns, with some consultants saying they would not enforce the strike unless their employers agreed to a higher overtime rate.

The British Medical Association (BMA) is calling for a “full restoration” of pay, which it says has fallen by 26%, and says the government has only offered 5% to end the dispute.

Dr Vivek Trivedi and Dr Robert Lawrenson, co-chairs of the BMA’s Young Doctors Committee, said in a statement: “Junior doctors are desperate because the government is refusing to listen to them.

“It never took two whole rounds of strike action to even put a figure on the table, and for that figure to be a 5% pay offer – in a year of double digit inflation, another pay cut in itself beggars belief.

“We have made it clear that junior doctors are seeking full reinstatement of our pay, which has been cut by 26%.

“Junior doctors in England have seen their wages cut in real terms by more than a quarter over the past 15 years.

“Today they demonstrate what this means for the survival of the NHS.”

A BMA survey of 1,935 junior doctors in England, published on Wednesday, found that 53% plan to leave the NHS or are thinking of leaving as a result of the government’s response to the crackdown.

Some 67% do not think the NHS in its current form will exist in 10 years’ time and 88% expect the NHS to deteriorate in the next 18 months.

The chairman of the BMA board, Professor Philip Banfield, has written to Prime Minister Risha Sunak urging him to intervene to resolve the dispute.

In the letter, he said: “No doctor wants to go on strike.

“They were forced to do this to force your government to listen and understand the realities of how desperate things have become on the front line of the NHS…

“I urge you to listen to our doctors and meet with me and our Junior Doctors Committee as soon as possible to find a way forward in this dispute.”

Minister of Health and Social Care Steve Barclay said it was “very disappointing” that the BMA was going ahead with the strike.

He said: “This 72-hour walkout will jeopardize patient safety and our efforts to reduce waiting lists.

“During recent meetings with the BMA Junior Doctors Committee we made a fair and reasonable opening offer and discussed both payment and non-payment until they decided to end negotiations by announcing new strike dates.

“If the BMA calls off these damaging and disruptive strikes and shows a willingness to significantly shift its position, we can resume confidential negotiations and find a way forward, as we have done with other unions.”

Doctors will join pickets outside their hospitals on Wednesday, while the BMA is also holding rallies for the rest of the week, including in Oxford, Birmingham, London and Manchester.

Rory Deighton, acute network director at the NHS Confederation, told the PA news agency he was worried about the impact of the strike.

“The NHS is used to managing disruptions caused by orders, so patients need to be confident that their local services are doing everything they can to prioritize those with the greatest clinical need and ensure safe services for patients,” he said.

“However, each wave of strikes undermines the resilience of the NHS, affecting staff, internal relationships and their ability to deliver on the government’s election promises to reduce the backlog.

“A particular challenge this time around will be securing the level of consultant cover for absent junior doctors due to the ongoing local negotiations over overtime pay.

“In reality, this means that it is not yet known exactly how many scheduled procedures and appointments will have to be cut and moved.

“National guidance remains that patients should assume their care will not be affected unless told otherwise.

“With the BMA announcing its intention to re-ballot its members for a strike mandate for the next six months, and with the possibility of mass action by consultants, radiologists and nurses, the short-term outlook looks bleak.

“A resolution is desperately needed and we urge the government to seek a resolution to this dispute.”

Earlier this week, Professor Sir Stephen Powis, NHS England’s national medical director, said the latest strike could affect almost all routine or pre-planned care in some way.

A similar walkout by junior doctors in April led to the postponement of 196,000 hospital appointments and scheduled surgeries.

Speaking on Wednesday, he said: “The National Health Service has faced significant disruption this week due to the three-day strike, which is set to increase due to the ongoing hot weather – with rising temperatures increasing the number of people seeking emergency services help

“While thousands of appointments are likely to be postponed due to the strike, the NHS will continue to prioritize urgent and emergency care, but with the country in the midst of a heatwave, the public can play their part by being sensible in warm weather. .

“For vulnerable and elderly people, this includes drinking plenty of water, using sunscreen and avoiding prolonged exposure to the sun or swimming in unsafe water – and please also consider checking vulnerable friends, family members or neighbors who can struggle with heat and humidity.

“People with conditions such as asthma should continue to use their inhalers.”