NHS urges patients not to put off care as doctors in England prepare for strike | NHS
The NHS is urging patients not to delay seeking the care they need after junior doctors go on strike from Tuesday; It’s a cut the health minister described as “disappointing”.
Tens of thousands of junior doctors in England will go on a six-day strike after the government took a key part of its proposal off the table.
The Department of Health and Social Care said last week that the proposal for 1,000 extra training places would no longer be “financially or operationally” feasible.
NHS England said hospital teams across the country will work to minimize disruption for patients during the outage, which is “expected to be particularly challenging” due to the shorter notice period.
Patients are advised to attend scheduled appointments unless they are contacted to reschedule, and those with life-threatening emergencies are advised to still call 999 or go to A&E.
Prof Ramani Moonesinghe, NHS England’s national clinical director for critical and perioperative care, said: “NHS staff will be doing all they can this week to keep patients safe and ensure people can continue to get the care they need.
“We know this round of industrial action coming so soon after the Easter weekend will be difficult, but patients should turn up and attend appointments as normal unless they are contacted otherwise.
“The NHS is open for you this week too; as always please call 999 or come to A&E in an emergency and use 111 online first if you need urgent but non-life-threatening help.”
The British Medical Association is pushing for a higher pay rise than the 3.5% the government is offering doctors.
Health secretary Wes Streeting said: “It is disappointing for both patients and staff that the BMA has decided to continue strikes this week, despite a deal that will see junior doctors on average 35.2% better off than four years ago.
“My focus, and that of leaders across the NHS, is now on protecting patients and staff by minimizing disruption to the healthcare service.
“Thanks to the dedication of talented NHS staff, the health service delivered almost 95% of its planned activity during the December strikes and I want to reassure patients that the NHS will be there for you when you need it this time too. My heartfelt thanks to everyone who has worked hard this week.”
Staff at the BMA union will go on strike on Tuesday to coincide with a six-day strike by junior doctors. The BMA’s latest salary offer for staff is 2.75%; this rate is lower than the last recommendation given to junior doctors.
Chairman of the BMA’s resident doctors committee, Dr. Jack Fletcher said: “The health secretary may be ‘disappointed’ but he cannot accept that a deal was taking shape until he quietly diluted the government, reduced the money on the table and then stretched it out over many years to make the remaining money valuable.
“Assistant doctors are as keen as he is to end the strikes, but his government needs to put an offer on the table that we can accept and that won’t change at the last minute.”
