A three-day strike by junior doctors has disrupted efforts to discharge patients over Christmas and a new six-day strike planned for the New Year will jeopardize patient safety, a health chief has warned.
The 72-hour strike ended at 7am on Saturday, but a second six-day strike is still planned in England from 7am on Wednesday 3 January until 7am on Tuesday 9 January.
Matthew Taylor, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, said the first round of strikes had already caused damage and called on the British Medical Association (BMA) and ministers to return to the negotiating table to avoid the risk of a second round.
He said BBC Breakfast: “I think we have survived the last few days well, also because, unfortunately, we are so used to planning strikes.
“We had various types of strikes throughout the year.
“But there are some consequences. What I have noticed is that there are some implications when it comes to the possibility of laying people off before Christmas.
“We would expect that in most years we would generally be able to release more people before Christmas so they could be at home with their families, for example, but that has been delayed.”
Some patients who would otherwise have gone home to spend Christmas with their families were unable to be discharged due to staff shortages.
The second strike will begin after Christmas and New Year and will be the longest period of industrial action in the history of the NHS.
Mr Taylor said: “Six days of strike action after a bank holiday, at a time of enormous pressure, there are real patient safety concerns and we have not put in place the national exemptions we have had for other strikes.”
“So yes, it will have an impact on the backlog, but I’ve also been very concerned about patient safety lately.”
National exemptions will allow hospital operators to ask doctors to return to work to ease pressure in certain areas.
The latest round of strikes was announced after negotiations between the BMA and the government collapsed.
Junior doctors were offered a three per cent rise on top of the 8.8 per cent rise they received in the summer, but the BMA said the money would be unevenly distributed across grades and “for many doctors this will always be the case. The salary will still be there.” cuts.”
The government has said talks will only take place once the threat of strikes has been eliminated.
And thus a dead end is reached.
“It appears that the BMA will only enter into negotiations if the government provides additional funding. “The government will not begin negotiations until the BMA calls off the strikes,” Taylor said. “Now is not the time to stand firm. Ceremony. This is the moment when people sit down at the table.
“It’s not too late to prevent January strikes.”
He added that “neither side wants to blink first, as if it is a sign of weakness”, but from the point of view of the public, patients and others working in the NHS, “in my opinion, whoever makes the first move is took a step.” support. Honor for that.”
“That’s why I’d like to encourage both sides to show a little imagination and engage in discussions,” he said.
Over the past three days, the BMA has called on the government to restart talks with trainee doctors with a “credible” proposal and called on Health Secretary Victoria Atkins to “stop trying to divide the profession”.
Co-chairmen of the BMA Young Doctors Committee, Dr. Robert Lawrenson and Dr. Vivek Trivedi said: “The health minister must now show real leadership and leave behind the dogma that has held back negotiations – she must be willing to talk to us, no matter what happens. whether strikes are planned.
“If Miss Atkins comes to visit us for Christmas and New Year, we will be there to chat.”
Ms Atkins suggested on Thursday that “many doctors” were “very unhappy” with the timing of the strikes.
The health system is facing increasing seasonal pressure and authorities expect this to be the toughest winter yet.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak called the strikes “disappointing” and called on junior doctors to call them off.
In 2023, trainee doctors went on strike for 28 days.
In Wales, junior doctors are planning to take a 72-hour break from January 15, while doctors in Northern Ireland are voting to strike.
The people of Scotland have already reached an agreement with the Scottish Government.
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.