Thousands of hospital appointments canceled over doctors' strike: UK

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
13 Mar 2023 23:05

NHS has been dealing with a severe shortage of healthcare workers since many people have been leaving the profession as a result of excessive workload and inflation.

Nurses of the nearby St. Thomas' Hospital in central London stand on the picket line (AP)

A strike for junior doctors over low wages and burnout in the heels of recent walkouts by nurses and ambulance staff led to tens of thousands of hospital appointments and surgeries being canceled, British media reported on Monday.

The three-day strike united around 61,000 trainee doctors in pursuit of a 26% pay raise starting Monday.

The Guardian reported that the strike may disrupt the UK National Health Service (NHS). According to the newspaper, NHS departments have postponed a lot more appointments and surgeries than they had to during recent strikes also held by nurses and ambulance staff.

"What worries me most is that there'll be fewer medical rounds on the wards than usual ... Therefore patients whose health is deteriorating could get missed," a hospital chief executive told The Guardian.

The Chief Executive also mentioned that they supported the strike as they believe that junior doctors should "be paid more because they do a hell of a lot of hard work and they do it under a lot of stress and pressure."

The UK's NHS has been dealing with a severe shortage of healthcare workers since many people have been leaving the profession as a result of excessive workload and inflation; they have not had the chance to upgrade their skills.

As a result, thousands of UK ambulance workers repeatedly staged protests over the winter to demand their rights amid the surging inflation.

The UK government asked for the military to keep the medical facilities running while the workers are on strike.

Nurses, physical rehabilitation specialists, paramedics, their assistants, and other healthcare workers also joined the strikes.