Patients in Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire have been urged to arrive for appointments as usual unless told otherwise despite a four-day junior doctors strike beginning today. An NHS spokesman for the region said there will be disruption to services across the hospitals in the area throughout the strikes but added: “If you have an appointment, please continue to come forward for the care you need.
"Please don’t call to check is your appointment is going ahead. You will be contacted directly if your appointment needs to be rearranged.”
Advice for patients during the strike was: “No-one should put off seeking urgent or emergency care during the strikes and people with serious, life-threatening conditions will continue to be seen at our Emergency Departments.
"However, please keep 999 and A&E clear for genuine life-threatening emergencies, and use NHS 111 online or by phone for other urgent care needs or if you’re unsure about whether you should go to hospital. If you are contacting 111, please give as much information as you can, as that will help you get the right support and advice."
On days when there is strike action, people should only call 999 if it is a medical or mental health emergency. Ambulances will still respond in these situations but this may only be where there is an immediate risk to life.
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Junior doctors started their planned strike today (Tuesday 11 April 2023), which will result in thousands of surgeries and appointments being cancelled. It has been described as 'the most disruptive industrial action in NHS history'.
The British Medical Association (BMA) said it had had no response from health secretary Steve Barclay. Junior doctors have asked for a 35% pay rise.
Mr Barclay has insisted he wants to engage in talks with junior doctors. He said: "My door is open and we remain willing to engage constructively with the junior doctors but clearly a demand of 35% – which would involve some junior doctors receiving over £20,000 more in terms of their basic pay – is not reasonable to your viewers, to those who have to balance the wider issues of the economy and getting inflation down alongside recognising the very real pressures that the NHS and junior doctors have been under, not least from the pandemic.
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“We want to reach a fair and reasonable settlement with junior doctors – we recognise the hugely important role that they play within the NHS," said Barclay.
The BMA launched a new advertisement supporting the strike action, indicating how little they are being paid. It shows how much three junior doctors, with one year (£14.09), seven years (£24.46) and ten years experience (£28), would earn a combined £66.55 for a one hour surgery.
The doctors have said there has been a 26% erosion in real terms of pay over the last 15 years. Surgical doctor, Dr Jennifer Barclay said: “There is nothing ‘junior’ about the work I have done as a doctor. I'll be trying to focus on steady, controlled hand movements, thinking about the next steps and communicating with the rest of the team.
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"Meanwhile, my bleep is going off incessantly in the background with more and more patients waiting to be seen as soon as I get out of theatre. For that hour of work that might save a life I can be paid £19.” She added that she would earn more and have a better life/work balance if she gave up medicine and became an electrician like her dad.
National medical director for the NHS in England, Sir Stephen Powis said: “The NHS has been preparing extensively for the next set of strikes but managing additional pressure doesn’t get easier as time goes by – it gets much more difficult – not only due to the sheer number of appointments that need to be rescheduled but also that they can take time to rearrange with multiple teams involved.
“This is set to be the most disruptive industrial action in NHS history, and the strikes will bring immense pressures, coming on the back of a challenged extended bank holiday weekend for staff and services. Emergency, urgent and critical care will be prioritised but some patients will unfortunately have had their appointments postponed – if you haven’t, please do continue to come forward.”
According to the NHS, junior doctors make up around half of all doctors and are qualified doctors who have up to eight years of working experience as a hospital doctor, depending on their speciality.
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