Nick Triggle,Health correspondent,
Jim Reed,Health reporterand
Philippa Roxby,Health reporter
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Prime Minister Keir Starmer has said the latest five-day strike by doctors in England is “dangerous and utterly irresponsible” and warned them not to abandon patients.
The walkout by resident doctors, the new name for junior doctors, began at 07:00 on Wednesday.
The British Medical Association (BMA) is asking for a “genuinely long term plan” to increase pay and make up for years of below-inflation rises.
The doctors’ union also wants to see new training places created “rather than recycled ones” so that more qualified doctors can specialise and progress their careers.
NHS bosses say they will struggle to keep some pre-booked services going during the strike, as hospitals deal with a surge in flu and other winter illnesses.
The BMA said they would work with NHS bosses to ensure safety in hospitals and other parts of the health service.
At Prime Minister’s Questions, Starmer said his message to resident doctors was: “Don’t abandon patients, work with us to improve to conditions and rebuild the NHS.”
In response, Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch claimed Starmer didn’t “have the baubles” to ban doctors’ strikes, and that he had lost control to trade unions.
Speaking at a picket line at a London hospital, BMA resident doctor leader Dr Jack Fletcher said that “we’re here yet again, because we have not yet reached a credible deal to fix this absurd jobs crisis”.
“What we’re asking for is to stop these real-term pay cuts that the government is recommending for doctors,” he said.
Asked about recent polling that suggests public support for the strikes is declining, he said: “I do care what my patients think but I didn’t sign up to give that care in a corridor.”
This is the 14th walkout by resident doctors in a long-running pay dispute.
The strike went ahead after last-minute talks between the government and union broke down without agreement on Tuesday.
The meeting was described as “constructive” by the government, but not enough progress had been made to call off the strike.
Resident doctors represent nearly half of the doctors working in the NHS. They are walking out of both emergency and non-urgent care with senior doctors drafted in to provide cover.
Around 50 medics have been protesting outside St Thomas’ Hospital in London, and more at hospitals around the country including Leeds and Newcastle.
Dr Krunthika Ramamurthi, who was trained as a doctor in India and has been working in the UK for five years, said she has not been able to obtain a specialty training post, which doctors can apply for after the first two years of training.
Instead, she has been forced to work as a locum and work short-term posts that do not count towards her training.
“It is really difficult. I am not progressing in my career – it is clear there is a shortage of jobs. I don’t want to strike, but the government is not addressing our concerns – pay is still below the 2008 levels,” she said.
“If the NHS is crumbling because of the flu cases that tells you everything really – the NHS needs to be better resourced.”
In the two most recent strikes – in July and November – NHS England said it was able to keep the majority of non-urgent operations and treatments, such as hip and knee replacements, going.
Situation ‘dicey’ in coming weeks
Speaking in parliament on Wednesday morning, Health Secretary Wes Streeting said he “deeply regretted” the impact the strike would have on patients in the run-up to Christmas.
He said the situation in some hospitals was already “dicey” and he was concerned about the effect on other medical staff who would be “knackered as a result” of industrial action.
He said there was no sign of a breakthrough after five hours of talks with BMA representatives on Tuesday.
“I think on jobs, [we are] broadly in agreement, [but] on pay [we are] too far apart,” he said.
“These strikes will come at a cost of £250m and impact on operational pressures, on patients and on the whole NHS workforce, and I deeply regret we are in this situation.”
Concern has been expressed that hospitals may struggle to discharge patients in time for Christmas as the doctors who are working concentrate on providing strike cover.
Medical director Prof Meghana Pandit said the strikes came “at an immensely challenging time for the NHS”, with record numbers of patients in hospital with flu for this time of year.
She said more patients were likely to feel the impact of this round of strikes than the previous two, adding that staff who are covering for those striking would not get a Christmas break with their families.
NHS England said GP practices will continue to be open and urgent and emergency care services will be available for those who need them.
But even then there is likely to be some disruption. Cheltenham General Hospital’s emergency department is closing for emergencies during the strike – it will remain open for minor injuries – with patients advised to use nearby Gloucestershire Royal Hospital.
NHS England said the public should use 111 online as the first port of call for urgent, but not life-threatening issues during the strike.
Patients who need emergency medical care should continue to use 999 or come forward to A&E as normal, it added.
The strike is going ahead despite a new offer from the government being made last week, which included increasing the number of speciality training posts and covering out-of-pocket expenses like exam fees.
Daniel Elkeles, chief executive of NHS Providers, which represents hospital and ambulance services, said the strikes are “like having the worst possible Groundhog Day”.
“But unlike the film this is real, so thousands of patients are going to have their operations and procedures postponed or cancelled,” he told BBC Breakfast.
He added that the “increasingly acrimonious dispute” feels like it’s as “far away from being resolved as it ever has been”.
However, he added that patients will still be safe in hospital and that people should attend appointments unless informed otherwise.
On Monday the BMA announced its members had voted to continue with the strike – effectively rejecting the offer in the process – after the union agreed to hold an online poll of members.
Streeting has maintained he will not discuss pay as doctors have received pay rises totalling nearly 30% over the past three years.
The BMA argues that, despite the pay rises, resident doctors’ pay is still a fifth lower than it was in 2008, once inflation is taken into account.
But it said it was committed to ensuring patient safety.
“We will be in close contact with NHS England throughout the strikes to address safety concerns if they arise,” the union added.
Resident doctors in Wales have accepted a new contract which promises a 4% additional investment in their workforce.
In Scotland, BMA resident doctor members are waiting for the results of their strike ballot later this week, after claiming government ministers went back on an agreement over pay.
So far Scotland is the only part of the UK to have avoided strikes by NHS workers.
Additional reporting by Joe McFadden, Elena Bailey & Kris Bramwell.
