RECORD-BREAKING DOCTORS’ STRIKE PILES PRESSURE ON ENGLAND’S HEALTH SERVICE – The government, which has agreed new pay deals
Junior doctors in England started a six-day walkout over pay on the 3rd January, the longest strike in the 75-year history of the state-run National Health Service, which will hit patient care during a seasonal winter peak in demand.
Doctors taking part in the industrial action flocked to picket lines in Nottingham, Birmingham, Newcastle and Liverpool, video footage showed. As in other key sectors over the past year, junior doctors represented by the British Medical Association (BMA) have staged a series of walkouts to demand better pay in the face of soaring inflation.
In a statement, the union urged the government to make a “credible” pay offer to end the strikes, which threaten to increase the pressure on the health service, where more than 7.7 million on waiting lists seek treatment. Cumulatively, the NHS, which has provided healthcare free at the point of use since it was founded in 1948, cancelled 1.2 million appointments since strikes began in 2023.
The government, which has agreed new pay deals with other healthcare workers, including nurses and senior doctors in recent months, has resisted hikes it says would worsen inflation.
The BMA abandoned talks with the government after being offered a pay rise of 8% to 10%, and held strikes from Dec. 20 to 23. The union is seeking a 35% improvement, which it says is needed to cover the impact of inflation over several years.
Junior doctors are qualified physicians, often with several years of experience, who work under the guidance of senior doctors and make up a large share of the medical community.