‘Doctors are not self-indulgent’: Readers on NHS strike action as flu cases rise

Independent Readers were divided after junior doctors voted to go ahead with a five-day strike just before Christmas, prompting a furious response from health secretary Wes Streeting, who called the action “self-indulgent” and “dangerous”.

Many in our community criticized the timing, arguing that striking at the height of winter pressures and record flu admissions risked harming patients and undermining public trust. For those readers, doctors should wait until January to maximize leverage without jeopardizing care, while some question whether the right to strike should apply in such cases.

Others strongly defended the doctors, pointing to more than a decade of real wage erosion, deteriorating conditions and staff shortages. They argued that the overwhelming vote for action showed deep disappointment, not militancy, and accused successive governments of exploiting goodwill while underfunding the NHS.

While some commentators have blamed the current crisis on the Conservative Party’s austerity policy, others have warned that Labour’s confrontational stance risks repeating past mistakes rather than solving them.

A recent poll of readers reflected a divide: 47 percent said doctors had no choice, 18 percent supported strikes but said the timing was wrong, and 35 percent opposed the action, saying it would harm patients.

Here’s what you need to say:

Cast iron safety

While I believe the doctors were wrong to strike, they certainly gave in to Streeting’s demands for wages.

I’m afraid if Streeting didn’t see this it is an example of his and the government’s naivety.

Their inexperience was obvious before the election and now we are paying the price for it. We were warned by Rishi!

Imsethorus

Elections have consequences

If I were the Conservative Party (which is unlikely) I would keep my mouth shut on anything to do with the NHS. When Gordon Brown left office, public satisfaction with the NHS was at a record high. Where it is now is 100 per cent in the hands of the Conservatives. The public knew this but continued to vote Tory anyway. Elections have consequences.

I can understand why Wes Streeting is frustrated and I don’t envy him having to sort out the 14-year Tory NHS attack. However, he needs to soften his tone. Yelling about the BMA and junior doctors being this, that and the other is straight out of the Tory playbook. This won’t help him.

I must say that if I were them, I would call off the strike by January. But I’m not a junior doctor, and a 5-to-1 majority thinks it’s enough for dramatic demonstrations, and the warning light has been on for a long time. Despite the froth of the last five administrations (unfortunately this one too) doctors are generally not difficult, communists, irresponsible, etc. Talented people doing a difficult job and asking the government and society to accept it.

donc79

Mistimed and misjudged

Normally the doctors get my full support, but the junior doctors are completely wrong about this.

They have the right to strike, but they choose when and how, and there is no need to strike anymore. They can easily wait to strike until flu season is at its peak and still feel the impact of the strike without putting the public in unnecessary danger. This is wrong timing and wrong judgment and they will lose public support.

Many other public sector workers may claim to have missed out on pay rises during austerity, but not all can strike. If they insist on behaving so irresponsibly, perhaps it is time for doctors to reserve the right to strike, just like the police and the army…

Bobby

Something is seriously wrong

Doctors are hardly part of the revolutionary class, so when they vote for strike action in those numbers, something is seriously wrong. For the most part, we all depend on the NHS for our health and for some of us to live or die; Therefore, we must do something to make doctors’ jobs doable. This is not only wages and training, but also conditions of service, support from allied professionals and investments in new technologies. Let’s do something instead of lingering on the sidelines.

I think we know the answer to that.

Something’s gotta give

I sympathize with doctors, but those who need urgent critical care do not have the luxury of sympathizing with them. Lying in the hallway on a trolley or in the back of an ambulance has become the norm. How much worse would it be if the doctors got exactly what they wanted while we only had one pot of gold? How will this cure the majority of patients? Definitely not in a good way. Something has to give. Longer waiting lists and more cancellations.

Likewise, the government needs to make a reasonable offer to be paid for a period of two or three years. Not now; This is usurpation.

chuckiethebrave

Withdrawal of goodwill

I’m a little tired of the emotional blackmail inflicted on workers by successive governments and the press in the event of strike threats. They are accused of being selfish and unreasonable. Let’s put this into context: For 14 years, there has been either no wage increase or an increase below the rate of inflation. Pay cuts. Lack of training places for doctors completing their diplomas. If you treat people badly for long enough, they will eventually withdraw their good intentions. It’s not the government’s fault, but they have inherited the consequences of benefiting from public sector goodwill for 14 years. Those calling for privatization might want to consider how much better doctors are paid in this sector.

Speculator

What could be wrong with this?

Poor Wes still doesn’t get it. Junior doctors are simply doing the right thing by wanting to return income levels (which the Conservatives consume) to current rates. What could be wrong with this? We need these dedicated people who have had years of training, who have seen their relative incomes erode much more than other equivalent professions, and who have also seen their prospects for advancement severely limited by cheaper foreign competition. Of course Tory austerity is to blame for the current crisis, but is it any wonder that increasing numbers of these disillusioned people are leaving the country to our national disadvantage?

hayneman

An enormous amount of sacrifice

Are you self-indulgent? Streeting isn’t very good with word choice, is he? The last thing doctors do is be self-indulgent. It is a job that requires great sacrifices.

I remember you saying that the NHS opens its ‘begging bowl’ every winter to cope with flu season.

He and all health secretaries should be ensured to follow the assistant doctor in a week’s work. They wouldn’t be able to cope after one shift.

Rowan

Some of the comments in this article have been edited for brevity and clarity.

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