A resident doctors strike has officially begun across England, prompting Health Secretary Wes Streeting to promise minimal disruption to essential NHS services. The five-day walkout represents the latest escalation in an ongoing pay dispute between doctors and the government.
Streeting emphasized that NHS England has ordered hospitals to cancel treatments only in exceptional circumstances. This approach marks a significant shift from previous resident doctors strike actions, where emergency care remained the primary focus. Consequently, the NHS is now striving to maintain both urgent and non-urgent services throughout this latest industrial action.
Senior doctors are covering for striking resident doctors during this 12th walkout in the ongoing pay dispute. However, the British Medical Association warned that this arrangement risks stretching medical staff too thinly. The union argues that ministers had every opportunity to prevent the resident doctors strike through meaningful negotiations.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer publicly urged resident doctors not to support what he called the union’s “damaging road” of strike action. In a Times article, he criticized the British Medical Association for “rushing” into strikes. Starmer claimed the walkout would cause a “huge loss for the NHS and the country.”
Despite NHS leaders’ efforts to maintain services, Starmer acknowledged that the resident doctors strike would impact progress made in rebuilding the health service over the past year. Streeting similarly admitted that these strikes would affect NHS turnaround efforts, though he reiterated his commitment to minimizing patient disruption.
Importantly, doctors in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland are not involved in this pay dispute. Consequently, NHS services in these regions should remain unaffected by the resident doctors strike.
NHS England has encouraged the public to seek medical care during the walkout unless specifically notified of appointment cancellations. GP surgeries will operate normally, while urgent care and A&E services will remain available. Additionally, the NHS 111 helpline will continue operating throughout the resident doctors strike.
The current resident doctors strike follows the breakdown of talks between the government and BMA on Tuesday. These negotiations focused on non-pay issues such as exam fees, working conditions and career progression. Health Secretary Streeting had previously stated that pay negotiations were not open for discussion.
Currently, there are no scheduled talks, though this could change after the five-day strike concludes. Government sources insist that the responsibility lies with the BMA, claiming they still refuse to negotiate on pay matters.
The BMA argues that despite a 5.4% average pay rise this year, following a 22% increase over the previous two years, doctor salaries have actually decreased by one-fifth since 2008 when adjusted for inflation. Resident doctors in their first foundation year now earn £38,831 for 48-hour work weeks. In their second year, salaries rise to £44,439, eventually exceeding £73,000 by the end of training.
Many doctors work additional night shifts, weekends and longer hours for extra compensation. On average, these additional payments increase earnings by more than 25%.
BMA resident doctor co-leaders Dr Melissa Ryan and Dr Ross Nieuwoudt stated: “Resident doctors are not worth less than they were 17 years ago. Restoring pay remains the simplest and most effective route toward improving our working lives. Mr Streeting had every opportunity to prevent this strike going ahead, but he chose not to take it.”
Previous resident doctors strike actions resulted in over one million cancelled appointments and treatments since March 2023. Some hospitals could only deliver half their normal routine care during strike days.
However, NHS sources suggest this current strike will feel different due to lessons learned from past actions. Hospitals are implementing new approaches to prioritize both emergency and non-urgent care simultaneously.
Professor Meghana Pandit, director at NHS England, explained: “It’s really important to reduce cancellations, because people have been waiting, sometimes for months for their routine hip replacement or hysterectomy or any appointment, and actually rescheduling the appointments impacts on them and leads to physical and psychological harm.”
Nevertheless, she acknowledged that some disruption remains inevitable. Patients are still encouraged to use NHS services when needed during the resident doctors strike.
While most resident doctors work in hospitals, some GP practices and community services may also experience disruption. Resident doctors represent nearly half of the medical workforce, making their absence particularly significant.
One affected family includes Hassnain Shahid from Bradford, whose three-year-old daughter had lung surgery cancelled due to the resident doctors strike. The child suffers from a rare lung condition that puts her at serious risk from common illnesses. Shahid described the situation as “an emotional rollercoaster” and expressed frustration with the disruption.
The BMA has warned that the new approach to maintaining services could create safety risks. The union argues that staff covering for strikers may become dangerously overextended. They recommend significantly reducing non-urgent care, as occurred during previous strikes.
However, Saffron Cordery, deputy chief executive of NHS Providers, assured that hospitals would maintain services within “rigorous safety guidelines.” She noted the complexity created by doctors not being required to confirm their attendance in advance.
Approximately two-thirds of resident doctors are BMA members, giving the union significant influence over the resident doctors strike. Conservative shadow health secretary Stuart Andrew criticized Labour’s handling of the situation, claiming it would leave patients “dangerously exposed.”
Yet Rory Deighton of the NHS Confederation argued that the impact and patient distress caused by these strikes rests with the BMA. The resident doctors strike continues to highlight tensions between healthcare workers and government policy regarding medical pay and working conditions.
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