When is the youth strike? April 2023 data and why doctors are on strike over salary disputes

The National Health Service has been hit by another round of union action as doctors once again forgo pay.

The British Medical Association (BMA) and the Hospital Consultants and Specialists Association (HCSA) announced late last month that young doctors in England would go on a four-day strike in April.

This comes after three days of strikes by junior doctors in March and a series of strikes by nurses and paramedics earlier this year and later in 2022 over pay and working conditions.

Junior medical executives at the BMA said the situation was “entirely government related” and members would rather “spend time caring for patients than go on strike”.

When is the youth strike?

Trainee doctors working for the NHS in England and who are members of the BMA will start their strike from 21:00. Tuesday, April 11, 6:59 a.m. – Saturday, April 15, 6:59 a.m..

Nearly 37,000 of the 47,692 voting members of the BMA voted in favor of the strike, with 98 percent voting in favor of the strike.

At the same time, young doctors who are members of the HCSA are also leaving. The organization, which represents about 600 young doctors, said the decision to strike followed the government’s refusal to stop talks to settle the dispute.

Why are young doctors on strike?

They appealed to the union for a “full restoration of wages”. The BMA said doctors’ real wages had been cut by 26.1 percent since 2008, and that restoring the cost would now require a 35.3 percent pay increase.

Doctors held a three-day strike from 13 to 16 March last month as part of the campaign.

After talks with Health Secretary Steve Barclay, the BMA announced in late March that it would strike again.

Dr. Vivek Trivedi and Dr. Robert Lorenson, co-chair of the BMA Young Doctors Committee, said: “It is with disappointment and great disappointment that we have to announce this new union action.

“The government took every opportunity. She has not made any credible offer and refuses to acknowledge any justification for the return of wages, calling our key demand “unrealistic” and “unreasonable”.

They added that they had “no confidence” that the talks would succeed without further action.

while Dr. Naru Narayanan, President of HCSA, said: “Junior employees have told us that they want to see real action on long-term pay cuts to counter the growing scourge of staff shortages that we are seeing and prevent colleagues from going abroad or from home from home. transition to the NHS.

The Department of Health and Human Services said further strikes would “compromise patient safety and cause further disruption.” She called the condition of a 35 percent pay increase “inappropriate”.

What are the likely implications for the Services?

The NHS Confederation, which represents trusts and healthcare providers, has warned that patient care is “in the know” of upcoming strikes.

There remains “great uncertainty” about the extent of coverage they can get from other professionals to provide essential services.

Health officials had to “plan for the worst to protect patient safety,” including canceling more appointments and dial-ins, keeping hospital bed occupancy levels as low as possible, and focusing on emergency and emergency care.

More than 250,000 appointments and surgeries are expected to be canceled during the April strike.

Dr Leila McKay, policy director for the NHS Confederation, said: “Health leaders are gearing up for the biggest strike in a decade and many aspects of patient care will be affected.

“They want to send a hopeful message to their local communities, but are very concerned that they won’t be able to secure supplies because they can’t rely on the same labor force as during previous strikes.”