Fewer than one in three resident doctors continuing to strike, as support for walkouts wanes
Medics treated 10,000 patients more during this junior doctors strike compared with their last round of industrial action.
2
The numbers come from early analysis carried out by the NHS into the cost of the five-day walkout at the end of July.
The hard-left BMA doctors union is demanding an eye-watering 29 per cent pay rise for junior doctors.
Early analysis of the strikes show the NHS managed to keep 93 per cent of planned appointments, operations and tests during the walkout.
Health Secretary Wes Streeting, said: 'Despite the huge effort made to keep as much planned care as possible going, let's be clear – these damaging strikes still come at a cost to patients, other staff and the NHS.
'A majority of resident doctors didn't vote for strike action and data shows that less than a third of residents took part.
"I want to thank those resident doctors who went to work for their commitment to their patients and to our shared mission to rebuild the NHS.
'I want to end this unnecessary dispute and I will be urging the BMA to work with the government in good faith in our shared endeavour to improve the working lives of resident doctors, rather than pursuing more reckless strike action.'
NHS CEO Sir James Mackey, NHS chief executive, said: 'The NHS has come together like never before to minimise the impact of strikes on patients, and I want to thank the hundreds of thousands of staff, including many resident doctors, who worked hard to manage the disruption, protect patients, and ensure the NHS remained open for those who needed.
'While this is really good news for the vast majority of patients whose treatment went ahead, we should still acknowledge that there were thousands whose care was disrupted.
"I would urge the Resident Doctors Committee to get back to the negotiating table.'
Junior Doctors Announce Five-Day Strike in July Amid Ongoing Pay Dispute
2
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BBC News
30 minutes ago
- BBC News
Struggling Southend-on-Sea families to get hygiene 'lifeline'
A charity that provides a "lifeline" to families facing hygiene poverty has received a fundraising Care Bank has been given £1,000 through the Tesco Community Pledge in partnership with the funding, the charity will now be able to provide 50 hygiene bags to families who need the most financial help over the summer packs will include essential toiletries, including shampoo, deodorant, detergent, nappies, toothpaste and toothbrushes. Charlotte Wood, treasurer at Southend Care Bank, said "more and more families" had started to use the care bank, with just under 500 currently said the service was a "real lifeline", adding: "Children struggling to get deodorant or period products may face bullying at school and not be included in social situations, which can lead to depression."Dental hygiene is also a huge issue right across the country so giving out free toothbrushes and toothpaste to families makes a huge difference."People supported by the charity include refugees and families in temporary or emergency care bank initially formed as a collective in December 2020 in response to the cost-of-living crisis and the lack of provision of hygiene products at food banks. Now a registered charity, it runs monthly drop-in sessions at St Mark's Centre and Westcliff Library. Follow Essex news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
BBC News
30 minutes ago
- BBC News
Brandon father reunited with heroic paramedics who saved his life
A father who came "perilously close" to dying after suffering multiple organ failure said he "wouldn't be here today" if not for the first responders who rushed to save his Field, 60, became seriously ill and went into respiratory distress at his home in Brandon, Suffolk, prompting his daughter Jasmine to call 999. After being put into an ambulance, his heart suddenly stopped but after spending 10 minutes trying to resuscitate him medics were able to successfully restart it during the incident on 10 March. "I wouldn't be here today if it weren't for the incredible team who came to my aid - their speed, skill, and compassion saved my life, and I'll never forget that," Mr Field said. 'A humbling reminder' After being taken to West Suffolk Hospital in Bury St Edmunds he was diagnosed with multiple organ failure. He remained in hospital for weeks while he recovered. He has since been reunited with the East Of England Ambulance Service paramedics who saved his life -Steph Oldham, Simon Sayers, and Alicia Ray - giving him the opportunity to personally thank them. "Meeting them again was emotional – but it gave me the chance to say 'thank you, from the bottom of my heart'."They gave me more time with my family, and that's the greatest gift anyone could give, " Mr Field added. Ms Oldham said they were "so pleased to be asked to meet Roger again". "It was a humbling reminder of why we do what we do," she said."To be able to give Roger and his family time they might have lost is a privilege." Follow Suffolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
The Guardian
4 hours ago
- The Guardian
OpenAI stops ChatGPT from telling people to break up with partners
ChatGPT will not tell people to break up with their partner and will encourage users to take breaks from long chatbot sessions, under new changes to the artificial intelligence tool. OpenAI, ChatGPT's developer, said the chatbot would stop giving definitive answers to personal challenges and would instead help people to mull over problems such as potential breakups. 'When you ask something like: 'Should I break up with my boyfriend?' ChatGPT shouldn't give you an answer. It should help you think it through – asking questions, weighing pros and cons,' said OpenAI. The US company said new ChatGPT behaviour for dealing with 'high-stakes personal decisions' would be rolled out soon. OpenAI admitted this year that an update to ChatGPT had made the groundbreaking chatbot too agreeable and altered its tone. In one reported interaction before the change, ChatGPT congratulated a user for 'standing up for yourself' when they claimed they had stopped taking their medication and left their family – who the user had thought were responsible for radio signals emanating from the walls. In the blog post, OpenAI admitted that there had been instances where its advanced 4o model had not recognised signs of delusion or emotional dependency – amid concerns that chatbots are worsening people's mental health crises. The company said it was developing tools to detect signs of mental or emotional distress so ChatGPT can direct people to 'evidence-based' resources for help. A recent study by NHS doctors in the UK warned that AI programs could amplify delusional or grandiose content in users vulnerable to psychosis. The study, which has not been peer reviewed, said the programs' behaviour could be because the models were designed to 'maximise engagement and affirmation'. The study added that even if some individuals benefited from AI interactions, there was a concern the tools could 'blur reality boundaries and disrupt self-regulation'. OpenAI added that from this week it would send 'gentle reminders' to take a screen break to users engaging in long chatbot sessions, similar to screen-time features deployed by social media companies. OpenAI also said it had convened an advisory group of experts in mental health, youth development and human-computer-interaction to guide its approach. The company has worked with more than 90 doctors, including psychiatrists and paediatricians, to build frameworks for evaluating 'complex, multi-turn' chatbot conversations. 'We hold ourselves to one test: if someone we love turned to ChatGPT for support, would we feel reassured? Getting to an unequivocal 'yes' is our work,' said the blog post. The ChatGPT alterations were announced amid speculation that a more powerful version of the chatbot is imminent. On Sunday Sam Altman, OpenAI's chief executive, shared a screenshot of what appeared to be the company's latest AI model, GPT-5.
