The senior physician warned that patients with arthritis and other chronic pain conditions will have to wait even longer for treatment in the hospital as the doctors’ strike exacerbates the backlog.
An estimated 350,000 appointments have been canceled and rescheduled as doctors continue their four-day strike over pay increases.
While the most urgent appointments are texted fairly quickly, Dr. Katherine Holliday that appointments for non-life-threatening illnesses would be pushed further back in an already long queue.
This was stated by the President of the Royal College of Radiologists. I that patients waiting to be scanned “should be worried”.
“There are cancer patients whose disease gets worse, the cancer grows while they wait.
“But there are also patients … who have painful, non-life-threatening conditions, arthritis and things like that – they can be at the end of the line because it’s not a life-threatening condition. But living with chronic pain is terrible.
“Indeed, patients have to wait terribly, either because their condition can worsen or because it can affect their quality of life and mental health.”
Almost 800,000 people in England are waiting for trauma and orthopedic treatment, including musculoskeletal and arthritis. This is 52 percent more than the average number of people waiting in 2019.
The government is under pressure to reopen talks to end the collective bargaining dispute with junior doctors represented by the British Medical Association (BMA).
The union, whose initial demand is a 35 percent pay rise, is seeking support from the Acas employment agency, which says it is “well prepared and ready to help.” Ministers say the demand for wages is unreasonable and unaffordable.
“We really need people to sit down at the table and start talking,” the doctor said. Holliday.
“The fact that there are so many [junior doctors] feel strong enough because of this drug, were in a very, very bad place, because all the doctors go into healthcare to help patients, and that’s the last thing they want to do.
“We must find a solution, bottlenecks and strikes are bad for patients.”
Dr Holliday said patients were already waiting too long to see a radiologist before the 96-hour strike.
The strike, she said, “will only make things a little worse.”
“If patients are really sick and need to go to the hospital and need a CT scan, when they get to the emergency room, they still get emergency care. Patients who are hospitalized will continue to receive scans and if they require interventional procedures, they will continue.
“But it’s just people who have a less urgent scan scheduled, and in those four days, that appointment gets canceled a lot of the time and they sort of get back in line.”
On the second day of the strike, Rishi Sunak said: “I think the government has a good track record of showing that they can sit down at the negotiating table, find a reasonable compromise and find a way out of these difficult situations, as we have already done. .” have joined several other health unions representing over a million NHS workers, including nurses and paramedics.
The Prime Minister added: “We are pleased to discuss pay deals that are fair, fair and affordable for the taxpayer and allow us to continue to deliver on our promise to halve inflation.”
Health and Human Services Secretary Steve Barclay has previously said the strike jeopardizes patient safety and was staged for maximum disruption.
He said talks with the BMA could only resume if the union dropped the 35 percent wage cap and called off the strike.
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.