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THE NHS IN England is bracing for “the most disruptive industrial action” in its history as junior doctors walk out over pay and working conditions.
The public health service has been hit by waves of strikes in recent months as soaring inflation eats into wages and pandemic backlogs coupled with staff shortages increase workloads.
But the four-day walkout by junior doctors threatens to be the most serious action yet, with national medical director of NHS England Stephen Powis warning it will pile “immense pressures” on the service.
“This is set to be the most disruptive industrial action in NHS history, and the strikes tomorrow will bring immense pressures, coming on the back of a challenged extended bank holiday weekend for staff and services,” he said yesterday.
“Emergency, urgent and critical care will be prioritised but some patients will unfortunately have had their appointments postponed.”
Up to a quarter of a million appointments could be postponed, according to the NHS Confederation, which represents the whole healthcare system in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Family doctors are reported by British media to be closed for appointments for up to a week, as GPs are drafted in to provide cover for junior doctors.
The NHS Confederation’s Matthew Taylor told Sky News the strikes “are going to have a catastrophic impact on the capacity of the NHS”.
The service has been “preparing extensively” for the strikes, said Powis, but added that the task was made “much more difficult” due to the “sheer numbers” of appointments that need to be rescheduled.
The walkout began at 6am and run until the morning of 15 April.
Health Secretary Steve Barclay said “unrealistic” calls for a 35% pay rise had led to a breakdown in talks.
“This demand is widely out of step with pay settlements in other parts of the public sector at a time of considerable economic pressure on our country,” he wrote in the Sunday Telegraph.
“I recognise their hard work and dedication. But it is deeply disappointing that this industrial action has been timed by the British Medical Association (BMA) Junior Doctors Committee to cause maximum disruption to both patients and other NHS staff.”
Mike Greenhalgh, deputy co-chair of the BMA’s Junior Doctors Committee, told BBC One’s Breakfast show on Sunday: “It’s hard to negotiate when only one side is doing it and we’re not getting anything back from the government on that front.
“We’re happy to meet at any time. We would still meet him over the bank holiday weekend before the industrial action next week,” he added.
Junior doctors have up to eight years’ experience working as a hospital doctor and make up around half of all NHS doctors, according to official figures.
The UK has been hit by strikes across broad swathes of the economy, with workers struggling with a cost-of-living crisis caused by double-digit inflation.
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I hope this brings a sense of closure to the robot’s friends and family.
When the funeral ?
Great news after the facebook campaign….
I’m always misplacing my beagle moon lander
It looks like a disaster …splat ! Ah the Brits are funny, they are so good at everything , invent everything , I mean everything , including skiing ha, can you believe it.
Poor old Colin Pillinger took the brunt of media pillory for the “loss” of Beagle. He was also heavily involved in the Philae lander, but did not live to see either confirmed as having landed.
It’s always in the last place you think to look.
Did you ever parachute onto a planet, then completely forget why you parachuted onto it?
Hope the good Professor lights a candle to St. Anthony for finding it for him.
Where are the images referred to in the article?
They were only looking for a set of keys too when they stumbled upon it
It was up there with shergar all along
So the Beagle has landed….
What they are not telling us is that 20 foot aliens with 6 arms killed it – and we’re next.
Where’s frank???
Frank is probably of sulking somewhere, because he can’t think up any 33 related conspiracy theory to fit this
The aliens on Mars resonate at a different frequency to us so we can’t see them …. but sure everyone knows that ,
And besides on Mars they are all metric so there is no way there could be 20ft. aliens anywhere on Mars – A 6m. Alien is of course very possible – get your facts right !
If they bash it on the side it might work
i wonder if they’ve tried switching it off and on again
Let’s hope Pro Mark Sims can put all this terrible disappointment behind him and start enjoying Christmas Day again, feckin eejit
Your some Beagle to be sniffing around Mars without a lead..
This gives me some hope of finding all the items i have put away to keep them safe.
Have they called the AA???
have your say