An emergency department in Gloucestershire is unable to open as a strike by trainee doctors causes chaos in England’s health system.
Tens of thousands of aspiring doctors will leave the country from Wednesday due to a long-running pay dispute. Senior doctors have warned strikes will cause “massive disruption” ahead of the Christmas holidays.
Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust closed its Cheltenham emergency department on Tuesday, citing strike action. The department will remain closed for serious emergencies until January 9, the last day of the British Medical Association (BMA) strike. The unit will briefly open as a minor injuries unit from December 23 to January 1.
Under the plan, emergency services will be centralized “at Gloucestershire Royal Hospital”, a 30-minute drive away, with the hospital also canceling many appointments “to ensure safe staffing in emergency departments and other essential services”.
Dr Ananthakrishnan Raghuram MBE, Chief Medical Officer for NHS Gloucestershire, said: “The latest round of strikes at the busiest time of year will create significant challenges for the local NHS, particularly hospital services, and we regret that there will be disruption to services. for many patients the services will come.”
“This is a very complex situation and decisions regarding temporary changes to services are not taken lightly. One Gloucestershire’s health and care partners work closely to ensure those who need it most have continued access to high-quality care and support.
“We cannot overstate how important it will be to protect Gloucestershire Royal Hospital’s emergency department from life-threatening conditions and serious injuries.”
Cheltenham was among several emergency departments that also closed during previous strikes, but the nearly three-week closure is the longest ever.
NHS doctors in England will be off duty for three days in December and six days in January, with the BMA calling for a “full pay restoration”, which would require a pay rise of more than 35 per cent after years of below-inflation pay. rises.
Co-Chairs of the BMA Medical Committee, Drs. Rob Lawrenson and Dr. Vivek Trivedi said in a statement: “The government can still avoid the need for these strikes: we will be ready when they want to talk.” be cancelled.
“Every winter we sound the alarm on the NHS, and every winter the government fails to make the necessary investments in staff to prevent a crisis – now is the time to break this trend.”
Rishi Sunak said on Tuesday that the trainee doctors’ strike in England was “very disappointing”.
The Prime Minister told the Communities Committee: “We have now found a solution with all other parts of the public sector and all other parts of the NHS, that is, over a million workers, through the Agenda for Change agreement which we entered into a few months later . signed back.” closed. including all of our nurses and most recently consultants and other doctorates.
“So the only people who haven’t settled yet are the doctors in training.”
He said the government had “demonstrated its considerable fairness” by finding solutions together with other public sector workers.
“The question is more about junior doctors: why do they refuse to accept what everyone else is now accepting, apart from a pay rise more generous than all others, imposed by the independent body responsible for it.”
The National Health Service said emergency and emergency care would be given priority during the strikes and that “almost all” routine care would be affected.
Professor Sir Stephen Powis, national medical director for NHS England, said: “These strikes come at a time when it will cause huge disruption to the NHS as services are already suffering from the strain of winter.”
“If you take into account the Christmas and New Year holidays, these strikes will prolong the period of slowdown and also weaken the health service in the new year when demand begins to rise significantly.
“Over the festive period, I would encourage anyone who needs medical attention to continue to contact us – in life-threatening situations, call 999 and go to A&E as usual. For everything else, please use the online 111 number.”
Consulting physicians have already agreed on remuneration, and specialists and medical specialists are currently discussing a remuneration proposal.
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.