England’s health service is girding for a fresh four-day strike by junior doctors, compounding Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s struggle to end months of labor unrest that has slowed the UK’s post-pandemic recovery.
(Bloomberg) — England’s health service is girding for a fresh four-day strike by junior doctors, compounding Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s struggle to end months of labor unrest that has slowed the UK’s post-pandemic recovery.
Tens of thousands of junior doctors, who are qualified medics in clinical training, will walk off the job across England for 96 hours starting at 7 a.m. Tuesday. Hospital leaders and politicians warn the British Medical Association’s push for more pay will cause unprecedented disruption to the National Health Service, with many staff still on annual leave during the school holidays following the easter break.
The strike represents a setback for Sunak’s government, which just last month had appeared poised to halt a wave of industrial action that has hit schools, railways and hospitals. The doctor’s walkout threatens to bring labor unrest back to the fore less than a month before local elections, with a national poll widely expected next year.
“Not only will the walkouts risk patient safety, but they have also been timed to maximize disruption after the Easter break,” Health Secretary Steve Barclay said on Tuesday in a statement. He urged the BMA to “move significantly” on its pay demands and enter talks with the government.
For its part, the BMA argues it’s seeking “pay restoration” after junior doctors received below-inflation increases for around 15 years. That would mean a raise this year of 35%, although the union clarified last week that the number was intended as a “starting point.”
Thinking Twice
Barclay called the BMA’s pay demand “unreasonable” and said it would result in some junior doctors receiving annual increases in excess of £20,000 ($24,750). “If the BMA is willing to move significantly from this position and cancel strikes we can resume confidential talks and find a way forward,” he said.
During this week’s walkouts, the health service plans to prioritize emergency services, maternity care and critical care, Stephen Powis, NHS England’s national medical director, told Times Radio on Sunday. He urged the public to “use services wisely” and to “think twice” before seeking emergency help.
“This is going to be the most disruptive strike that we’ve seen in NHS history,” Powis said. “I think services will be fragile this week. Because it’s a significant part of the workforce that are likely not to be there.”
More than 175,000 patient procedures and appointments had to be canceled in England when junior doctors went on strike for 72 hours in March.
English Hospitals Can’t Guarantee Safety During Doctors’ Walkout
NHS Providers said last week that health trusts had privately acknowledged that they weren’t confident they could maintain patient safety, even if they focused resources on emergency treatment, critical care and maternity and neonatal care. “The challenges here are unprecedented,” NHS Providers Chief Executive Julian Hartley said in a statement.
The doctor strikes will hit the health service just as Sunak prepares to mark the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday agreement with US President Joe Biden this week in Belfast.
The prime minister suffered a fresh blow on Saturday when teachers’ union NASUWT rejected a government pay offer, joining the bigger National Education Union in doing so. Teachers are planning five days of strikes in the upcoming term. The government is also bracing for a strike by civil servants at the end of the month, with more than 130,000 government workers due to walk out on April 28.
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