Next month, tens of thousands of young doctors are expected to vote in favor of strikes as the “only option” for higher wages and a “nosebleed” from their former enemy, Jeremy Hunt.
With young doctors being elected next month and many expecting them to vote to strike, fears are growing among NHS leaders that they will face an unprecedented disruption to the health service and hospitals will remain up and running just to to do the bare minimum.
Saffron Corderi, head of NHS Providers, said young doctors striking at the same time as nurses and paramedics would take the NHS into uncharted waters and urged both sides to resume negotiations.
she said I: “We have already seen how junior doctors were on strike, nurses were on strike just now, and paramedics were on strike 30 years ago, so in this sense it will be an unprecedented action, especially if they come together.
“It will be planning, people will find their way, but it will be incredibly difficult. Hospitals can only do what is necessary. We will face absolute emergencies, people will be seen, treated and cared for, but I doubt that we can do much more.
“If we see more strikes this week in the future, with nurses and paramedics – and possibly other medical workers – going on strike for several days in a row, it will complicate things. This effectively shuts down the system for days, which is a big problem. When new doctors come in, things get really complicated.”
Ms Corderi said that consecutive or simultaneous strikes by all three groups of staff “would be one of the toughest situations” hospitals would have to deal with.
She said: “[That’s] in relation to managing the normal course of business, attempting to complete overdue work or emergency work. It’s going to be very difficult, which is why our constant message is: “Let’s sit down and talk.”
Ministers braced for public backlash as junior doctors go on strike
Ministers and their allies are bracing for a period of growing unpopularity as the number of striking unions increases in the coming months. I understands.
Health Minister Steve Barclay thinks it’s likely young doctors will vote to strike and is already making plans on that basis, the sources say.
And Jeremy Hunt, based on his experience as health secretary during the latest doctors’ strike, is said to have warned colleagues that they cannot expect the public to turn their backs on the unions over time and should instead expect them to take the lead. on accusation.
Ken Clark, who was health secretary and chancellor in the 1990s, said: I that ministers must endure short-term unpopularity in order to achieve their long-term economic goals.
He said: “We cannot go back to the situation of 40 years ago, when it was assumed that the final proposals and independent recommendations of workers willing to strike could always be improved.
“This makes the government very unpopular in the short term, but popularity will return by the election when inflation comes down and economic growth resumes.”
Voting for British Medical Association (BMA) members in England begins on January 9, with medics calling on their colleagues to join the Nurses and Paramedics Union in action over pay disputes. Separate voting will open in Scotland, and doctors in Wales are also pushing for the possibility of voting on strikes.
Trainee doctors say their salaries have been cut by more than 25 percent since 2008/2009 and are demanding reimbursement.
Voices are being cast as more NHS workers join the BMA and the number of residents has increased by more than 5,000 since 2019, when their four-year dispute over their new contract finally ended. The young doctors’ long-running feud with Mr Hunt, who served as health secretary from 2012 to 2018, saw them leave the hospital for the first time in 40 years.
Although the then Minister of Health forced Mr Hunt back to the negotiating table by going on strike, he forced a new contract on junior doctors despite being opposed by 58 percent of eligible BMA members. The feud dragged on for four years before the junior doctors finally reached a new deal that would see 39,000 medical workers receive a 2 percent annual pay raise and other benefits for four years.
At the head of the Treasury, which has refused to sign a better deal for NHS workers amid rising inflation and a cost-of-living crisis, young doctors see an opportunity to join forces with other NHS workers to work together for a much better outcome. fight the offer of payment.
BIA Vice Chair, Dr. Emma Ranswick said: “We have had one pay cut after another. This year, in real terms, about a 10 percent reduction in wages. When the cost of living goes up and people start to fight, it really starts to gnaw at you.
“This anger has been building for some time at everything to do with staff, working conditions, and now wages. And then there is a new element of hope, and maybe we can do something about it, maybe we can take a stand. All medical professionals are starting to come to the same conclusion. Things have gotten so bad that we have to do something about it, and we can do something about it.
“Nurses are taking action, paramedics are taking action and we are committed to taking action. And absolutely, I feel that we have a very clear majority for this within the profession – not only among residents, but also general practitioners, specialists, specialists who express support for residents who are preparing to act. I’m not worried that the majority will support us.”
This was told by a medical student in the north-east of England, who did not want to give his name. I: “Jeremy Hunt was in charge of the NHS for years of austerity and fought a long contract battle with us that many of us didn’t want. None of the issues we talked about during this dispute have been resolved and now the NHS is in an even worse position.
“Now it’s not just the junior doctors who want to go on strike – look at the nurses and paramedics this week – it shows how outraged the entire health service is. It’s time to give the government – and especially Jeremy Hunt – a bloody nose for the damage they’ve done to the National Health Service.”
The BMA said the results of a survey conducted by young doctors this week back up calls for redress and that strikes are the only option for many. Nearly 4,000 physicians participated, and 71 percent said they were “very concerned” about the impact of the rising cost of living on their personal situation.
More than half said they had difficulty paying utility bills and travel expenses this year, and three-quarters (74 percent) said childcare costs had become difficult.
The BMA said: “We are now in a situation where almost half of the residents are struggling with basic expenses such as rent, heating and transportation costs. In 21st century England, that’s a disgrace.”
Source: I News
I’m Raymond Molina, a professional writer and journalist with over 5 years of experience in the media industry. I currently work for 24 News Reporters, where I write for the health section of their news website. In my role, I am responsible for researching and writing stories on current health trends and issues. My articles are often seen as thought-provoking pieces that provide valuable insight into the state of society’s wellbeing.