Fresh strikes are due to take place as junior doctors and consultants will hold a joint strike in England for the first time in the history of the health service.
The joint strikes will take place over the course of four days, starting next month as junior doctors vote “overwhelmingly in favour of continuing their industrial action in their campaign for full pay restoration, according to the British Medical Association (BMA).
“Against the backdrop of a hugely understaffed and under-resourced health service, junior doctors and consultants have seen their pay drop in real terms by over a third in the past 15 years. The Government continues to refuse to even enter talks with either group to try to bring an end to the disputes,” the BMA has said.
Since March of this year, junior doctors have staged 19 days of strike action - with consultants having staged four days.
There has been a turnout of over 71 per cent and 43,440 junior doctors voting to continue industrial strikes, “their re-ballot has renewed their mandate for industrial action for another six months,” the BMA added.
Junior doctor committee co-chairs Dr Rob Laurenson and Dr Vivek Trivedi said: “Today, junior doctors across England are sending a single message, loud and clear to the Government: we are not going anywhere. We are prepared to continue with our industrial action, but we don’t have to – the Prime Minister has the power to halt any further action by making us a credible offer that we can put to our members. Refusing to negotiate with us and with our consultant colleagues is not the way ahead.”
Rishi Sunak has been urged to listen to the voices of junior doctors and consultants and to no longer delay pay negotiations.
“If he does not come to the table with a credible offer on pay, he will face another six months of strike action,” the co-chairs added.
BMA consultants committee chair Dr Vishal Sharma said: “Junior doctors and consultants walk the same wards, look after the same patients in an underfunded and poorly staffed NHS. It is becoming ever clearer that this Government does not value us or our work and nor does it really value patient care.”
When are the strikes taking place?
The BMA said consultants will strike in the long-running row over pay on September 19 and 20 with “Christmas Day” levels of cover, with junior doctors also walking out on September 20 with “Christmas Day” cover followed by strikes on September 21 and 22.
Both consultants and junior doctors will strike again on October 2, 3 and 4, all with “Christmas Day” cover.
The dates listed for strike action are:
Tuesday 19 September – Consultant strike
Wednesday 20 September 2023 – Joint strike
Thursday 21 September – Junior doctor’s strike
Monday 2 October 2023 – Joint strike
Thursday 3 October 2023 – Joint strike
Wednesday 4 October 2023 – Joint strike
What has Rishi Sunak said about the strikes?
Shadow health secretary Wes Streeting said Rishi Sunak and Steve Barclay should negotiate with medics to end the pay dispute. He said: “The failure of the Prime Minister and his Health Secretary to sit down and talk to doctors has now led to the most severe strike action yet.
“The risk to patients is intolerable and the blame for cancelled appointments, delayed operations and rising waiting lists lies firmly at the door of 10 Downing Street.
“There is no excuse for the Prime Minister failing to sit down with NHS doctors to try to bring an end to these strikes.
“The NHS needs all hands-on deck right now. Rishi Sunak cannot continue to sit this out.”
However last month, Mr Sunak said Junior doctors should accept the pay deal on offer so “we can all get back to treating patients and getting waiting lists down”, according to The Telegraph.
The Prime Minister said progress on tackling record NHS backlogs “has stalled because of the industrial action” and the current pay offer is a larger increase than “almost every other workforce in the public sector”.
Additional reporting from agencies
