Medical staff in England start 72-hour strike, bringing health services to ‘near standstill’
The 72-hour work stoppage is the second joint walkout by groups of junior doctors and NHS consultants
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Medical staff in England are holding three more days of historic walkouts this week in an effort to get increased wages and better working conditions, leaving health officials bracing for cancellations and alerting customers of the disrupted service.
Nearly 130,000 patient appointments were forced to be rescheduled last week and the National Health Service informed patients that junior doctors and consultants are working "Christmas Day" staffing levels for three days this week, meaning emergency care will be staffed with only minimal cover elsewhere.
"The first-ever joint industrial action by both consultants and junior doctors took place last week, seeing 129,913 inpatient and outpatient appointments rescheduled across the week. At the peak of the action, on Wednesday 20th September, there were 26,802 staff absent from work due to industrial action," a statement from the health service read.
It continued: "Thousands more appointments are expected to be rescheduled this week, just days after the total number of postponements since strikes began exceeded one million appointments."
Junior doctors and consultants picket outside University College Hospital at the beginning of a three-day strike over pay, on Oct. 2, 2023, in London. (Leon Neal/Getty Images / Getty Images)
The strike, which started at 7 a.m. local time, comes just days after the doctors and consultants participated in the first-ever NHS simultaneous strikes last month. The strike brought care services to a "near standstill," the NHS said.
"NHS services have had very little time to recover from the previous action, and to now face an unprecedented three consecutive days of ‘Christmas Day’ cover this week which will prove extremely challenging, with almost all routine care brought to a near standstill," said Sir Stephen Powis, the NHS national medical director.
The strike, which started at 7 a.m. local time, comes just days after the doctors and consultants participated in the first-ever NHS simultaneous strikes last month (Leon Neal/Getty Images / Getty Images)
Powis said the remaining staff are "working incredibly hard to prioritize emergency care" and urged patients not to let the strike prevent them from seeking medical treatment.
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The strike comes after the country’s health secretary negotiated with British Medical Association leaders, offering a 10.3% raise, on average, for consultants and an 8.8% raise, on average, for junior doctors, depending on their level.
The health ministers described the pay raise as a "final and fair" settlement, but junior doctors have sought a 35% increase, prompting the continued strike.
Health Secretary Steve Barclay went on to express he was "deeply disappointed and concerned" by the decision, suggesting the doctors are to blame amid the negotiations, according to the BBC.
Doctors launched their latest action as the state-run National Health Service struggles with huge backlogs caused by the pandemic and years of underfunding and understaffing. (Henry Nicholls/AFP via Getty Images / Getty Images)
British Medical Association Chairman Phil Banfield said doctors are not the problem, the BBC reported.
"We don't want to be on strike, but we so want doctors to be recognized as the highly skilled practitioners of medicine that they are," he said.
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The consultants and junior doctors intend to walk out on Oct. 2, 3 and 4.