Some 50,000 junior doctors – who represent a third of the medical workforce – are on strike for 24 hours protesting government plans to change pay and work schedules.
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Pictured: Dr David Restall on the picket lines outside Chesterfield Royal.
Anne Rainsberry, national incident director for NHS England, said: “It’s a tough day, but the NHS is pulling out all the stops, with senior doctors and nurses often stepping in to provide cover”.
Thousands of routine procedures were cancelled but emergency care was still available today, as junior doctors-that is, those at a level up to but not including consultant-walked out.
Nearly 30,000 junior doctors were expected to join a strike that began at 8 am London time and was set to last for 24 hours – the first of three planned actions in the coming weeks.
Junior doctor Mary Gee, who is 18 months into her training, spoke to Key103 about why she is on strike: “I am here today because I think that this contract is fundamentally incredibly unsafe for patients”.
In a statement on the strike the BMA said: “We want a contract that is safe for patients, fair for juniors and good for the NHS”.
Johann Malawana, chair of the BMA junior doctors committee, said: “Junior doctors feel they have been left with no option but to take this action”.
On Wednesday February 10, there will be a full withdrawal of labour from 8am to 5pm.
Now hospitals that overwork junior doctors face financial penalties, but these would be removed under the new contract.
They collected more signatures for a petition backing their contract fight in the “Meet the Doctors” event, the first since November past year. The BMA fears that proposals to change the maximum number of working hours per week will put patients at risk in the hands of over-worked, exhausted doctors.
If no resolution is found, there will be a 48-hour stoppage and the provision of emergency care only from 8am on 26 January.
Under the most recent proposals, doctors will receive an 11% rise in basic pay but extra pay for “unsocial” hours will be cut.
His government says the reforms are needed to help create a “seven days a week” NHS where the quality of care is as high at the weekends as on weekdays.
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Stressful and tiring working conditions were causing demoralisation within the NHS, and pushing more doctors towards looking for work in other countries, Zafrani said. We are working with the NHS to ensure there are robust plans that protect the safety, welfare and service provided to patients.
