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Times
an hour ago
- Health
- Times
NHS put up with harm of last strikes, says boss — but not any more
The chief executive of NHS England has ordered hospital leaders to take a tougher line with the doctors' union when the latest strikes begin next week. Sir Jim Mackey said he would not put up with the same levels of poor care seen during the previous wave of action, setting local hospitals on a collision course with the British Medical Association (BMA). 'We all tolerated levels of harm and risk last time that I really just don't think we should anymore. We'll be taking a different approach,' he said, ahead of junior doctors' planned five-day walkout from 7am on Friday. In previous rounds, the BMA imposed a 'Christmas Day' level of service on the NHS, with cancellations and delays for tens of thousands of patients. At a meeting of NHS England's board on Thursday, Mackey said that caused much wider levels of harm than previously realised and the NHS should not accept it.
The Sun
17 hours ago
- Health
- The Sun
Nearly 2,000 junior doctors earned over £90,000 a year but they are STILL going on strike demanding a 29% pay rise
NEARLY 2,000 junior doctors earned over £90,000 in one year, the Sun on Sunday can reveal. But they are still planning to walk out on strike this week demanding a whopping 29 per cent pay rise. Around five per cent of doctors in specialist training made more than £91,700, NHS England data from April 2023 to March 2024 shows. 2 It means over 1,800 junior doctors, now known as residents, were in the top five per cent of UK earners in that period. Critics said the shocking revelation shows just how outrageous it is that junior doctors are going on strike this week. They will down tools for five days from Friday morning. 2 Shadow health secretary Ed Argar said the strikes were a 'slap in the face' for Brits who will pay the price. He added: 'These strikes are irresponsible, unnecessary and wrong, and should be called off now. 'Resident doctors will be coming off the front line and going on the picket line and this kind of chaos puts patients and lives at risk." Health Secretary Wes Streeting has told the Commons the average first-year doctor earns £43,275 - 'significantly more than the average full-time worker in this country'. This week talks between the leftie British Medical Association and Wes Streeting ended in a stalemate. A spokesman for the BMA said the high earnings will have been paid to a minority of more senior resident doctors working multiple weekends, anti-social hours and extra shifts to cover gaps in rotas. He added: 'It is an indication of the huge workforce shortage in the NHS because these doctors, like scores of others, step in, give up their time to fill as many shifts as they can to make sure patients are seen and cared for.'
Times
2 days ago
- Health
- Times
Angela Rayner's bill ‘will make it easier for doctors to strike'
Labour's workers' rights overhaul will make it harder for hospitals to find cover for walkouts because unions will no longer need to tell managers in which departments the strikers work. NHS bosses have raised safety fears about the measures, which could put Wes Streeting, the health secretary, on a collision course with Angela Rayner, the deputy prime minister, who is leading the reforms. The Employment Rights Bill, which is making its way through the Lords, will make it easier for the British Medical Association (BMA) to call strikes, with some doctors saying jokingly: 'All hail Queen Angela'. Unions will no longer have to meet a legal threshold of a 50 per cent turnout in a ballot to hold a strike. The reforms will also increase the length of a strike ballot mandate from six months to 12. This is expected to only apply to new ballots once the legislation has passed but NHS bosses have said it raised the prospect of 'ongoing, lengthy periods of industrial action'. The BMA had only a 55 per cent turnout in its recent ballot of resident or junior doctors, and on current trends turnout would dip below 50 per cent if the union reballots doctors next year. However, Rayner's reforms mean the BMA would be able to strike anyway. Resident doctors have said the bill is a 'game changer' in their long fight to get 'full pay restoration' to 2008 levels — the equivalent of a 29 per cent pay rise. By law, individual employees do not need to tell employers if they intend to strike but unions must tell bosses how many workers in each category will walk out, as part of their notice of a strike. The Employment Rights Bill will remove that requirement and while unions will still need to list the category of workers, they will not need to provide the numbers of workers in each category. This week, Streeting said it was 'shockingly irresponsible' for unions to tell striking doctors not to inform their bosses. He said: 'What I cannot fathom is how any doctor in good conscience would make it harder for managers to make sure we have safe staffing levels, would make it harder for other staff who are going to be turning up to work that day, not least the staff who have not had a higher percentage pay rise, many of whom are paid less than resident doctors.' Richard Sloggett, of Future Health Research, said the Employment Rights Bill was 'very problematic for Streeting' and he was being 'boxed in by Angela Rayner'. Rory Deighton, acute network director at the NHS Confederation, said: 'Not knowing whether individual members of staff will go out on strike can create much uncertainty for NHS leaders who will be working to minimise the impact on the provision of care and services to patients, ensuring that services can continue to be delivered safely — including considerations on the welfare of all of their staff working normally and not taking strike action.' • Key Labour workers' rights reforms delayed after business backlash He said employers and unions needed to 'work constructively and professionally at all times' and added: 'Nobody in the NHS, least of all patients, want to see ongoing, lengthy periods of industrial action, however, these reforms do mean this is a risk we could face.' Chris Coombes, senior associate at the employment law firm Littler, said: 'Certainly, for employers who need to arrange cover during periods of industrial action, it will be more difficult to do so with less information about what sort of employees will be taking part in the strike.' The BMA's six-month mandate to call strike action will run out in January, when the union will have to reballot its members. Its leaders have made it clear they are prepared to keep balloting in the long haul and have said they will not back down until they are awarded a 29 per cent rise. • Doctors could have student loans written off to avert strikes Sloggett, an adviser to Matt Hancock when he was health secretary, said: 'This current strike mandate will run until January. If both sides are still dug in, then the BMA will just reballot. When Rayner's reforms kick in next year, there will be nothing to stop the BMA going on strike again — even if they don't get above 50 per cent turnout. 'If you are in Wes Streeting's shoes you need as many tools and levers as possible against the BMA. Angela Rayner is taking away one of his levers — that if turnout goes below 50 per cent they can't strike again. 'Streeting is being boxed in by Angela Rayner. Rayner's reforms will rebalance power towards the unions. We could have wave after wave of industrial action. The government has got itself into a really messy situation. 'It raises the prospect of indefinite NHS strikes rumbling on and on for years. Unions will no longer have to go through the process of reballoting every six months.' • Five deaths linked to disruption from last junior doctors' strikes He said the reforms would also give more power to other members of NHS staff threatening to strike, including nurses and hospital consultants. 'For Streeting the Employment Rights Bill is a real bind, as he can't be seen to be anti-union if he wants to secure a future labour leadership crown. But strikes will severely hamper any progress on NHS waiting lists.' A government spokesman said: 'The old strike laws clearly didn't work, with the UK losing more days to industrial action in 2022 and 2023 than in any year since the 1980s. 'Strikes have a serious cost for patients, which is why we are appealing to the BMA to call them off and work to improve working conditions and continue rebuilding the NHS. Under our plans unions will still need to provide categories of worker, workplaces affected and number of workers involved. 'We have also been clear that the intention to change the ballot turnout threshold will be aligned closely with the introduction of e-balloting to ensure that industrial action mandates have broad support.'
Bangkok Post
2 days ago
- Business
- Bangkok Post
BMA chief voices train fare compensation concerns
Bangkok governor Chadchart Sittipunt has urged the government to clarify compensation terms for the 20-baht electric train fare policy, warning unclear details could expose the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) to potential legal risks. Mr Chadchart expressed support for the government's second phase of the 20-baht maximum fare policy for electric trains across the Bangkok Metropolitan Region (BMR), saying that this initiative will help ease financial burdens on commuters. However, he noted that the current concession agreements with private train operators involve average fares of around 34 baht per passenger. With roughly 700,000 passengers, a figure likely to increase, the concessionaires could face a substantial revenue loss as the Ministry of Transport's compensation estimate appears low. The BMA has also hired private firms to operate some train lines at an annual cost of around eight billion baht while collecting only about two billion baht in fare revenue. Mr Chadchart said the compensation must also be fair in this case as well. "What we're a little bit worried about is the contracts between the private concessionaires and the BMA. Clear discussions are needed because if they can't agree on a certain compensation, the BMA could be sued," Mr Chadchart said. Meanwhile, Gp Capt Anudith Nakornthap, the Kla Tham Party's strategic chairman, defended the policy against critics who argue it is unfair to taxpayers outside the capital. Gp Capt Anudith said that the 20-baht fare benefits all Thais, not just Bangkok residents, as anyone from across the country who works or visits the capital will also be able to enjoy lower fares. He said that Bangkok contributes nearly 48.3% of national tax revenue -- far more than other regions -- demonstrating the city's critical role in national financing. He warned against a view that public spending in Bangkok is designed to be regionally biased. "This isn't about favouring just Bangkok," he concluded. "It's about reducing transport costs for everyone, which is a way to stimulate the economy by increasing people's purchasing power."
The Sun
3 days ago
- Health
- The Sun
Talks between Wes Streeting and militant junior doctors end in stalemate as damaging NHS strikes loom
TALKS between Wes Streeting and militant junior doctors have ended in a stalemate. The impasse leaves open the threat of damaging NHS strikes beginning in a week's time. 2 Health Secretary Mr Streeting insisted he could not give in to the British Medical Association's demands for a 29 per cent pay rise. But there was a glimmer of hope as it agreed to continue talks to avert the five-day walkout from next Friday. Last year, the BMA bagged a 22 per cent pay rise over two years. The Health Secretary has said resident doctors' pay has risen by 28.9 per cent over the past three years. Mr Streeting added: 'We'll be having further conversations in the coming days to try to avert strikes. 'While we can't move on pay after a 28.9 per cent pay rise, we are working on areas where we can improve working lives for resident doctors. "Strikes have a serious cost for patients, so I am appealing to the British Medical Association to call them off and instead work together to improve their members' working conditions.' The Department of Health is also reportedly looking at student loan help for younger doctors who rack up debts of up to £100,000 — although suggestions they will be wiped have been denied. Junior doctors, now called resident doctors, admitted that the public did not want them to strike. Junior Doctors Announce Five-Day Strike in July Amid Ongoing Pay Dispute Dr Melissa Ryan, of the BMA's resident doctors committee, was asked if it would accept better working conditions instead of cash. She said: 'We're willing to be here. We're interested to hear what Mr Streeting has to say.' Up to 50,000 doctors are set to walk out on July 25 until 7am on July 30. Tens of thousands of appointments will be cancelled if the strikes go ahead, it is feared. 2
