Junior doctors in England say they’ll walk out for five days ahead of the U.K.’s upcoming general election if politicians don’t agree to increase compensation.
Union leaders say prime minister Rishi Sunak can stop the strike if he makes a “concrete commitment to restore doctors’ pay” as part of his campaign for re-election.
If the industrial action goes ahead, it will see junior doctors — who are roughly the equivalent of U.S. resident doctors — leave their posts from June 27 to July 2. The general election will take place on July 4.
In the U.K., the vast majority of healthcare is provided by the state and most doctors are public sector employees. Although an independent body recommends how much pay National Health Service staff should receive, lawmakers ultimately decide on compensation.
Junior doctors say their income has risen below inflation for 15 years. They want a pay rise of 35%.
They argue better salaries are needed to attract and retain enough staff to ensure the country’s health service can meet the demands of an ageing population. But ministers say their pay requests are unaffordable.
If the planned strike goes ahead, it will be the 11th time junior doctors have walked out during the current dispute. It will result in the cancellation of numerous non-urgent appointments as hospitals prioritize emergency care.
It will also cost the organizations millions of pounds in temporary staffing fees and lost income due to reduced activity.
Earlier this month, doctor’s union the British Medical Association announced it had entered into mediated talks with government ministers — a move that seemed like it could finally move the needle on the strikes.
But union leaders said on Wednesday that they’re yet to see a “credible” offer.
“When we entered mediation… we did so under the impression that we had a functioning government that would soon be making an offer,” said BMA junior doctors committee co-chairs Robert Laurenson and Vivek Trivedi in a statement. “Clearly no offer is now forthcoming. Junior doctors are fed up and out of patience.”
Hospital industry body NHS Providers called the action “a worrying escalation” in the long-running action.
“This strike will inevitably hit patients hard,” said deputy chief executive Saffron Cordery in a statement. “Trust leaders and their teams will do everything they can to protect patient safety. They will spend countless hours preparing for the walkout, which includes cancelling and rescheduling appointments. This is time they would prefer to spend improving patient care and tackling sky-high waiting lists.”
She called on leaders to resolve the dispute as a “top priority.”
Several other staffing groups have also walked out over the last year and a half over pay and working conditions. Nurses, ambulance staff and senior doctors (known as ‘consultants’ in the U.K.) all took part in numerous strikes last year. But the majority of this action has come to an end.
“Nearly 1.5m appointments have been delayed since industrial action began, with strikes having now cost the NHS an estimated £3bn, ($3.81bn),” said Cordery.
“We cannot go on like this,” she added. “Politicians and unions must urgently find a way to resolve all disputes for the sake of patients, staff and the NHS.”
