Strike-hit appointments will take two weeks to rearrange, says NHS chief

Telegraph

a day ago

Appointments that are cancelled because of strikes will take two weeks to rearrange, according to an NHS chief.
Prof Meghana Pandit, NHS England's co-national medical director (secondary care), claimed on Saturday that hospitals would 'trust their best to get appointments rescheduled within two weeks'.
Up to 50,000 junior doctors, now known as resident doctors, joined a five-day walkout from 7am on Friday, in a fight for a 29 per cent pay rise.
More than 1.5 million appointments and operations have been postponed because of NHS walkouts since 2022.
Prof Pandit told BBC Breakfast on Saturday morning: 'If there's any rescheduling or postponement of surgery or appointments then the hospitals try their upmost best to get that appointment rescheduled within two weeks.
'I know it is distressing and even two weeks is too long for somebody to wait and actually that has an impact on the people who who are then displaced at that two week period.'
Prof Pandit said there were three 'derogations' granted on Friday, a process which allows hospitals to request striking doctors return to work if there is a risk to patient safety.
Nottingham City Hospital reached an agreement with the British Medical Association (BMA) to exempt one doctor from the strike to work on the neonatal intensive care unit.
A derogation was agreed for one doctor in the emergency department and another doctor in the ISGM at the Northern General Hospital.
The BMA said it had also agreed a derogation for two anaesthetists to work at University Hospital Lewisham on Saturday to ensure patient safety.
It comes as Wes Streeting said 'we are doing everything we can to minimise' patient harm.
The Health Secretary condemned the strike as 'reckless' and said the Government would not allow the BMA to 'hold the country to ransom'.
Sir Keir Starmer made a last-minute appeal to resident doctors, saying the strikes would 'cause real damage'.
He added: ' Most people do not support these strikes. They know they will cause real damage.
'These strikes threaten to turn back the clock on progress we have made in rebuilding the NHS over the last year, choking off the recovery.'
The BMA has argued that real-terms pay has fallen by around 20 per cent since 2008, and is pushing for full 'pay restoration'.
Dr Tom Dolphin, the BMA council chairman, said he was 'disappointed' to see the Government 'taking such a hard line against unions', after The Telegraph revealed Mr Streeting told NHS Leaders strikes should not be 'pain free' for doctors.
The BMA claimed the Health Secretary's remarks indicated the Government could be 'intent on breaking blacklisting laws by stopping resident doctors who take part in industrial action from picking up shifts afterwards'.
In previous strikes, junior doctors, who now go by the name of resident doctors, have been able to earn large sums by getting overtime rates to clear backlogs, while others have worked as locums during walkouts. Medics have also been able to continue up the ranks despite missing training during strikes.
But the NHS will now change stance on both, with hospitals requiring more doctors to work during strikes in order to protect patient safety. Doctors will also be warned that repeated absence from the front line could slow their career progression.
Speaking on BBC Radio 4's Today Programme, Dr Dolphin said: 'It's very disappointing to see a Labour government taking such a hard line against trade unions.
'The settlement last year was a good move by the Labour Government. The problem is they've gone back on their position since then. They're talking about punishing the trade union, talking about punishing doctors, holding them back in their training, making sure that they don't get locum shifts, that kind of thing.
'People are talking about that – which, of course, is not legal. And if we find cases of people being held to detriment for having taken part in strikes, we'll be fighting their case for them. It's just disappointing to hear that kind of rhetoric coming from a Labour administration.'
A spokesman for the Department for Health and Social Care said the Government supported NHS workers' right to strike, saying: 'The Government is committed to upholding the legal rights of all workers, including NHS staff, to take industrial action.
'The BMA's choice to pursue five days of strike action will cause harm for patients and staff having to cover absent resident doctors. It is irresponsible to walk out after the largest pay increase in the public sector, while talks were ongoing about conditions that would have had a material financial benefit to their members.'