The two strikes this week are the first time in history that NHS doctors have not provided emergency care in the history of the health service.
Advertisement
The strikes have led to 14 clinics and one elective surgery list being cancelled.
Members of the British Medical Association (BMA) – including those providing emergency cover – are holding a strike from 8am until 5pm today and tomorrow.
He said three-quarters of doctors would be “better off” under the new contract Mr Hunt has said he will impose on medics from August.
At the moment, neither side appears likely to back down so further strike action could be taken.
However, Will Sapwell, a junior doctor working at one of the psychiatric hospitals in Sheffield who was at the Royal Hallamshire Hospital’s picket line today, reassured patients that the strike will not affect their safety.
On Wednesday, junior doctors from Warwick were offering free CPR training in Leamington to help offer skills to members of the public.
The long-running dispute between junior doctors and the government started in October past year.
However, most hospitals coped well and did not experience any problems.
The BMA junior doctors” committee chairman, Johann Malawana, said the strike represented an “incredibly sad day for doctors, and the rest of society’.
For us, this contract going through is the final nail in the coffin of the NHS.
Around 50 doctors picketed outside Royal Stoke University Hospital, with local feeling in support of the strike.
Barts Health NHS Trust, which runs Whipps Cross, advised people not to come to the accident and emergency departments at its hospitals during the strike unless in need of emergency care.
Data from England’s National Health Service shows 78 percent of its junior physicians did not report for duty Tuesday, including those in emergency care, according to The Guardian.
Advertisement
Prime Minister David Cameron’s government argues that reforms to junior doctors’ contracts are necessary to ensure that the quality of care for patients is as high at weekends as it is during the week. As is always the case, we would urge people to think about the best place to access care if they become ill. Jeremy Hunt seems immoveable, but the junior doctors have fought a passionate campaign.
