Doctors are set to explain more about the strike outside Worcester Guildhall in the High Street from noon today during a “meet the doctors” event. There is enormous public support for the NHS as a free, publicly-owned service and for all NHS staff. This government is trying to trash the NHS in order to make privatisation palatable.
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“Patients who have a planned operation, outpatient clinic or procedure on Wednesday 9, Thursday 10 or Friday 11 March 2016 should attend as usual unless they hear from us directly to advise otherwise”. But we don’t have a choice. We want to know it’s safe but we all want to work for the NHS.
Health chiefs claim industrial action during January had a knock-on effect across the whole organisation.
Why are the junior doctors going on strike?
The doctors have already staged a walk-out this year over the terms of the contract, which include cutting pay for working antisocial hours.
“We would rather be indoors, helping our teams continue work”.
Urgent and emergency care services will be available as normal but hospitals are expected to be under extra pressure, NHS England said.
Dr Johann Malawa, BMA junior doctors’ committee chairman, said: “This is yet another example of the incompetence which the government has demonstrated throughout its handling of the dispute”.
The major issue is about weekend pay and whether Saturdays should attract extra “unsocial” payments.
But the Government wanted the Saturday day shift to be paid at a normal rate in return for a hike in basic pay.
Junior doctors will take part in three more strikes and launch a judicial review as part of their fight against the Government’s decision to impose a new working contract in England.
The doctors not at work will be running a day of free sessions to teach life-saving skills to parents of babies and young children in the city centre. There will still be premium rates for Saturday evenings and all of Sunday.
The survey found most people still think the Government is most at fault for the dispute, but a rising number believe equal blame should be shared by the Government and doctors’ leaders.
Doctors accuse Mr Hunt of conflating the arguments by saying that unless contracts are reformed immediately, patients will continue to die.
Black Country MPs Mike Wood (Dudley South) and Margot James (Stourbridge) said the Health Secretary had “no alternative” but to introduce new contracts in order to create a seven-day NHS as there was no realistic prospect of a successful negotiation being reached.
They also urged the BMA not to institute “costly” legal proceedings.
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Around 5,000 treatments have been postponed in the latest action by junior doctors, who were providing only emergency care during the 48-hour strike in the longest walkout so far.
