Today junior doctors in England have begun their longest walkout yet, in protest over pay. They are demanding a 35% pay rise, which the government has refused to offer. The strike started at 07:00 on Thursday 13 July 2023 and will end at 07:00 on Tuesday 18 July 2023. The strike is expected to cause disruption to National Health Services (“NHS”) with thousands of appointments being cancelled.
Why are Junior doctors striking?
Junior doctors say the last 15 years of pay rises have been below inflation, and a 35% pay increase is now needed to make up for that. The strike is the latest in a series of industrial actions by NHS workers over pay and working conditions. In addition, consultants, the more senior doctors, are filling in to provide emergency care during this strike. However, consultants will also be going on strike themselves on Thursday 20 and Friday 21 July 2023. This will further disrupt NHS services, and is likely to cause even more delays to patients’ care.
It comes at a time when the NHS is already facing significant challenges, including staffing shortages and rising patient demand. The strike is likely to have a major impact on patients, and could further disrupt the backlog of the NHS. Currently, more than 7.3 million people are on the waiting list which is nearly three million more than before the pandemic. Furthermore, 600,000 NHS appointments in England have already been cancelled or postponed due to strikes by doctors, nurses and other healthcare workers in recent months. It is also likely to lead to increased costs for the NHS as it will have to pay for additional staff to cover the absences of striking doctors. The government has been urged to act to resolve the ongoing pay dispute with junior doctors, and to address the wider challenges facing the NHS.
What has been said?
The British Medical Association (“BMA”) union said a government offer of just 5% was not “credible”. Health Secretary Steve Barclay said the strike is “unreasonable” and will put patient safety at risk. The BMA junior doctors’ committee has urged the government to “reassess their entrenched position” and get back to talks.
Sir Julian Hartley, chief executive of NHS Providers said:
“The last junior doctors strike cost the NHS in terms of direct cost around a £100m, and then of course there’s the impact on progress towards delivering waiting list reduction, so this is really difficult and challenging, and we do need urgently a resolution to this industrial action.”
