The strikes follow disputes over pay and conditions, which the union claims has left Junior Doctors’ Trust in the Government “at an all time low”.
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“We have been working with the doctors’ representatives and our clinical teams to build a picture of the likely impact of today’s strike to ensure that, wherever possible, essential services can continue without compromising patient safety”.
There are sing that an agreement might be reached over changes to the terms of the contract for junior doctors in the country.
Junior doctors staged a 24-hour walkout on Tuesday, leading to the cancellation of around 4,000 operations and thousands of appointments.
Opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn voiced support for the junior doctors, saying in a statement: “Their treatment by this government has been nothing short of appalling”.
The landmark industrial action was called after 98 per cent of the 38,000 junior doctors who are members of the British Medical Association voted in favour of strikes in response to proposed restrictions to the working hours in which junior doctors are paid for overtime.
“The biggest threat to patient care is the government’s insistence on removing safeguards which prevent junior doctors from being forced to work dangerously long hours without breaks, with patients facing the prospect of being treated by exhausted doctors”.
Striking junior doctors in Leeds have revealed that they are hoping to travel to flood-battered Kirkstall to help with the relief effort today.
The doctors – medical-school graduates training to be consultants or family practitioners – are providing emergency care for only the 24 hours that started at 8am London time.
Dr Mitchell conceded that junior doctors were “clearly highly disillusioned” but pleaded with them to negotiate a settlement. The doctors argue patients will be put at risk, while the government says the National Health Service needs more flexibility to deliver services on weekends.
The key sticking point is the changes to weekend working, which would see junior doctors lose their extra pay for “unsocial hours” on Saturdays.
The doctors are planning a 48-hour stoppage later this month and a full withdrawal of labor, including emergency care, for nine hours on February 10. They understand the reason why we took industrial action and it was the right thing to do, for both ourselves and our patients.
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He added: “It is heartening that people understand why we have done this, it was such a hard decision to strike but the public understand why we did this”.
