It will take weeks for hospitals to recover from the 72-hour junior doctors’ strike, with the prospect of more strikes, NHS leaders said.
In some emergency rooms, this week was the busiest Monday of the year, with tens of thousands of young doctors starting a three-day strike over wages and benefits. The trusts are seeing “relentless” demand for treatments as hospitals rely on the goodwill of consultants to fill gaps in the list.
Sir Julian Hartley, chief executive of NHS Providers, said: “Unlike previous strikes, it is striking that demand for health care has not fallen. Senior doctors intervene in the gap, but it’s not like usual. For inpatients, this means that hospitalization takes longer and the discharge process is also slower.
“Delays in the transfer of ambulances have also increased. We are seeing more coverage from senior psychiatrists and public services, but this is not sustainable and trust leaders are worried about “goodwill fires”.
His warning came when the British Medical Association (BMA) and the government appeared to be no closer to a pay solution, and the union asked Health Minister Steve Barclay to waive some of the negotiating terms. It says the government should “continue to discuss future rewards and limit talk of a 15-year pay cut to just a one-time bonus payment.”
The BMA said: “It also appears that the Minister of Health is demanding from the BMA a commitment to send government proposals to members recommending acceptance, which young doctors would not do before formal negotiations began. ”
Sir Julian said the planning to prepare for the 72-hour strike and keep services running was “enormous” and required managers time to do other work. “We can’t continue like this. The effects of the three-day strike will be felt for a long time to come,” he said. “We need a quick agreement between the government and doctors’ unions.”
Emergency rooms remained under intense pressure on Tuesday, with NHS England saying it was prioritizing emergency and intensive care. General practices and pharmacies are largely unaffected, officials said, with 911 available online to help with many non-urgent needs.
Professor Sir Stephen Powys, National Medical Director of the NHS, said: “Some hospitals endured the busiest Monday of the year with emergency room visits at the start of the strike, a major concern as our staff continue to do their best to keep an eye on union action for patients. As we see the impact of the most significant strike break in NHS history, we are immensely grateful to the public for the proper use of the services.”
More than 100,000 appointments have already been put on hold this winter, according to the NHS, after nurses and other healthcare workers went on strike over pay disputes with the government.
The BMA is calling for a “wage restoration” for young doctors with years of experience, who make up about 45 percent of the medical staff. Their wages have fallen by 26.1 percent in real terms since 2008/2009, and a 35.3 percent wage increase would be required to reverse this.
The young doctors will return to work on Thursday morning but will be allowed to continue their strike until August. The BMA has already said it may recall 47,600 residents to ask if they want to continue union activities.
Dr. Rob Lawrence and Dr. Vivek Trivedi, co-chair of the BMA Junior Physicians Committee, said: “We remain open to negotiations with the government anytime, anywhere to quickly resolve this dispute and restore lost wages to junior doctors. .
“If the Minister of Health is really in the mood for this, he should drop these unreasonable conditions and start real negotiations with us. The demands contradict the arguments of the trainee doctors. The question arises; Does he understand why the doctors are so angry?
“Patients and doctors want a quick end to this dispute, but it looks like the government wants to extend it. Therefore, we ask him to drop the barriers he has erected and speak openly – doctors and patients deserve no less.
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.