Great 'disruption' as UK junior doctors strike over pay disagreement
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A new strike for Junior doctors in England will disrupt health services, again, in the country.
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Junior doctor members of the British Medical Association (BMA) stand on the picket line outside UCLH at the start of a strike amid the bitter dispute with the Gov. over pay, in London, on August 11, 2023. (AP)
In a continuing disagreement with the Government over compensation and working conditions, junior doctors in England have started a new strike that will, according to officials, impair health services.
The government's inability to keep its commitments has reached a breaking point, according to health authorities, as evidenced by the junior physicians' four-day protest, which started on Friday at 7:00 am (0600 GMT).
"This latest round of junior doctors strikes will again significantly disrupt services for patients," UK's state-funded National Health Service (NHS) medical director Stephen Powis said.
He claimed that the most recent junior doctor strike, which affected almost half of the doctors working in UK hospitals, will have a more negative effect than earlier instances of labor unrest.
The development comes as millions of patients in England are added to waiting lists to begin receiving medical care in hospitals as a result of a significant backlog caused by the epidemic and ongoing strikes by healthcare workers who are demanding more pay amid the UK's cost-of-living crisis.
"The additional challenge this time is that organizations are unable to use agency workers to cover staff out on strike," Powis said.
Read: England's health service braces for 'catastrophic' doctors' strike
In recent months, nurses, ambulance workers, and other medical professionals in the UK have all joined the nationwide NHS strike, increasing pressure on the government to solve the economic difficulties and financial strain facing public health service employees.
The junior physicians' take-home income has decreased by 26% over the past 15 years, according to the British Medical Association (BMA), which is representing the strikers.
The BMA declared that it would keep pushing for higher compensation for its members after criticizing the government's July announcement of a wage increase for the public sector as being insufficient.
It added that consultant doctors in England would strike again in September if the government "continues to refuse to agree to pay talks."
On Tuesday, the junior physicians' four-day strike will conclude at 7:00 am (0600 GMT).
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has failed to reduce the record-breaking wait times for regular hospital care in England in the interim.
Nearly 778,000 medical appointments in England's health system have been rescheduled as a result of strike activity since December, according to NHS information, which added that waiting times for common treatments like hip and knee replacements increased by almost 100,000 in June.
Sir Julian Hartley, CEO of NHS Providers, stated that employees were "pulling out all the stops" to reduce wait times, one of Sunak's five "people's priorities" in advance of the general election that is anticipated for next year and in which health is expected to be a prominent issue.
However, Hartley issued a warning that the number of rescheduled appointments and surgeries by the end of August might be "close to 1mn" as a result of consultants' plans to join picket lines in two weeks.
He cautioned that the government's failure to follow through on its pledges to improve healthcare in the UK could tilt the balance in the upcoming elections in favor of a Labor-led administration. "The sheer volume of planned treatment being put back . . . will make it almost impossible for trusts to cut waiting lists as much as the government wants," said Hartley. "We could be close to a tipping point . . . The government and unions must find a breakthrough urgently."
Steve Barclay, the UK's health minister, refused to budge in response to the junior doctors' demand for more pay, though.
He asserted that the salary raise was adequate and encouraged the BMA to "end its strikes immediately."
According to Barclay, the government's announcement of a 6 percent salary increase with an additional lump sum payment of £1,250 ($1,590) in mid-July was "final." For the sake of the patients, Barclay urged the physicians to call off the strike.
"Patients are bearing the brunt of the impact of continuous strikes across the NHS, and further action by the BMA will cause more appointments and procedures to be postponed."
