Junior doctors (i.e. below consultant level) have begun a six-day strike in a major escalation of their long-standing dispute with the British government over pay.
The move comes at one of the busiest periods of the year for the state-funded body, as it faces increasing pressure due to the spread of respiratory diseases in the winter.
It also comes directly after a three-day doctors' strike before Christmas.
The authority confirmed that the recent strike, in which up to half of health sector workers could participate, “will significantly affect almost all routine (health) care.”
NHS Director Stephen Powis said: “This January may be one of the most difficult beginnings of the year the NHS has ever faced.”
The strike is scheduled to end on Tuesday at 7 a.m. GMT.
The British Medical Association announced the strike in December after talks with the government collapsed.
The union reported that junior doctors were offered a 3 percent pay rise in addition to the 8.8 percent increase they were given earlier this year.
But she rejected the offer because the amount would be divided unfairly among doctors of different levels and would represent “a reduction in wages for many doctors.”
Junior doctors have gone on strike at least seven times since March, a move criticized by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and senior hospital officials.
The NHS often sees an increase in the number of people admitted to hospital after Christmas as some people postpone treatment in order to spend the festive period with their loved ones.
The authority is already facing delays in waiting times for appointments and surgeries, blamed partly on Covid and years of funding shortfalls on the other.
Julian Hartley, chief executive of the NHS Providers, which represents hospital groups in England, said the impact of strikes on patients would be “significant”.
“Most surgeries and scheduled appointments will have to be cancelled,” he told the BBC.
Consultants will replace junior doctors, and emergency and emergency care services, such as maternity and intensive care departments, will not stop working.
But there are concerns that Covid, influenza and other seasonal illnesses could impact headcount.
“We are very concerned about the impacts in the coming days,” Hartley said.
#longest #strike #doctors #England #history #National #Health #Service #begins
