Patients Advised Not to Delay Treatment Amid Doctors' Strike
The NHS has urged people not to delay seeking medical care as a six-day strike by resident doctors in England commences on Tuesday. This marks the 15th walkout in an ongoing dispute over pay and job opportunities, coinciding with the end of the extended bank holiday weekend. NHS managers have expressed concerns that a surge in demand during this period could be particularly challenging.
Officials have confirmed that senior doctors and resident doctors not participating in the strike will continue working. Patients are advised to attend appointments as scheduled unless they have been directly informed of cancellations or postponements.
Details of the Strike Action
The current industrial action by resident doctors—formerly known as junior doctors—was initiated after negotiations to resolve the three-year dispute collapsed at the end of March. Tens of thousands of resident doctors are set to strike from 07:00 BST on Tuesday until just before 07:00 on Monday, 13 April.
Health Secretary Wes Streeting described the strikes as "disappointing," emphasizing that the priority remains protecting patients and staff by minimizing disruption to NHS services. He noted that during previous resident doctor strikes in December, the NHS was able to deliver nearly 95% of planned activities.
Union Response and NHS Preparedness
The British Medical Association (BMA), representing the doctors, acknowledged that the strikes would cause disruption despite NHS England's assurances of maintaining the majority of services during industrial action.
"Many senior doctors will be covering for us and whilst that of course benefits patients, we know they are also exhausted and as demoralised as we are," said Dr Jack Fletcher, chairman of the BMA's resident doctors committee.
Prof Ramani Moonesinghe, national clinical director for critical and perioperative care at NHS England, highlighted that established systems are in place to ensure the safety of health services during industrial action. Speaking on BBC Radio 4's Today programme, she stated:
"The NHS is still open for business and there are still plenty of people there available to care for you. If you have a planned appointment - unless you have been specifically told that it has been postponed or cancelled - you should attend for that as you'd expect to. If you have an emergency or urgent condition, you should do exactly the things you'd normally do - so phone 111 or 999 if you need that sort of emergency care, attend A&E if you need emergency care or attend your GP or a local pharmacy if you have a less urgent condition."
Impact and Background of the Dispute
Resident doctors constitute nearly half of the medical workforce in the NHS, with approximately two-thirds being members of the BMA. Following the announcement of the strikes, the government withdrew a key component of its offer by rescinding 1,000 additional training places. The Department of Health and Social Care explained that these plans were no longer "financially or operationally" feasible but asserted that this would not affect the overall number of doctors in the NHS, as the posts were to be created from existing short-term roles.
In addition to the extra training posts, the government had proposed covering certain out-of-pocket expenses, such as examination fees, and ensuring accelerated pay progression through the five salary bands that span medical training.
However, the BMA ended negotiations, citing that the pay progression terms had been "watered down" at the last minute. This development coincided with the government accepting recommendations from the independent pay review body to grant all doctors, including resident doctors, a 3.5% pay increase effective from this month.
While this pay rise has resulted in resident doctor salaries increasing by one-third over the past four years, the BMA contends that, when adjusted for inflation, pay remains approximately one-fifth lower than in 2008. The union employs the Retail Price Index (RPI) as its measure of inflation, which is higher than other indices, justifying this choice by noting that the government uses RPI to calculate interest on student loans.
