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BBC News
7 days ago
- Health
- BBC News
Strike will impact 60,000 London appointments, NHS says
Approximately 60,000 appointments across London will be impacted by a five-day doctors' strike starting on Friday, the medical director for NHS London has said. The British Medical Association (BMA) strike follows a pay dispute with the government over resident doctors - the new name for junior London said cancer and heart surgeries were being prioritised, however care which was not life saving was being "put on the back burner", a move which was "causing distress" and "some harm as well".The BMA said resident doctors had not had a "credible" pay deal for 2025-26, but Health Secretary Wes Streeting argued the strike was "unreasonable" after substantial pay rises in recent years. 'Cumulative effect' Dr Chris Streather, medical director for NHS London, hospitals had "quite a lot of practice" with managing care during industrial action."We will do as much as we can," he said. "But some things will get cancelled inevitably."He added: "The more worrying thing this time around is the cumulative effect of repeated cancellations of planned care."Since 2022 when this all started, we've cancelled nearly 1.5m planned appointments, and every time this happens, we loose about another 60,000."Although we make emergency care safe, we can't really deal with that backlog in planned care." The five-day walkout, which will take place across England, comes after a period of greater demand at St George's, Epsom and St Helier 1 June and 14 July this year, approximately 800 more people attended the hospitals' emergency departments compared with the same period last year, the group of those were admitted to hospital with issues including respiratory problems, shortness of breath, chest pain and falls. Dr Jane Evans, consultant at St George's Hospital in Tooting, said the hospital would have to "try and achieve balance" by managing emergency care and planned appointments during the strike."It's a square peg, round hole situation. We try to do everything, but it's impossible." The BMA said wages were still around 20% lower in real terms than in 2008 and called for "pay restoration".Streeting has made clear there would be no extra pay this year. Dr Melissa Reddy, co-chair of the BMA resident doctors committee, said: "Our door is always open for Mr Streeting to come forth with an offer. "None of us want to go out on strike. I'm a paediatric doctor, I work with children and families and I'd much rather be at work, but we simply need Mr Streeting to act and present us with a credible offer." Dr Streather said the strike would have more of an impact in the capital, where approximately half of doctors were resident doctors. "I and other people are disappointed that resident doctors are striking," he said."The public finances are in a mess and we've got a backlog of patients to deal with, and there isn't money to increase their pay."This can't be about pay... but there's lots of other stuff we can do to improve their working lives and I think we need to take that seriously." The NHS urged people to use its 111 online service, visit a pharmacy for advice or contact their GP where possible. Anyone in need of emergency care should continue to use A&E departments. The strikes take place from 07:00 on Friday until 07:00 on Wednesday.
BBC News
09-05-2025
- Health
- BBC News
Patient safety commissioner for Scotland recruited
Scotland's first ever Patient Safety Commissioner is set to be appointed. Experienced healthcare executive Karen Titchener will take up the role after two previous recruitment drives for the £93,094-a-year role failed. The law creating the new independent public advocate for NHS patients was passed in 2023. MSPs will be asked to approve Mrs Titchener's nomination to His Majesty the King on 15 May and she is expected to start the role in September. The new post will be independent of both government and the health recruitment process for the role, which runs for an eight-year term, was handled by the Scottish Parliament. Mrs Titchener is currently working in the United States in a senior role for a 'hospital at home' programme. Prior to this she had more than two decades of senior leadership experience within the UK health included a role in NHS London where she was part of the team which delivered the world's first reported 'oncology at home' programme delivering acute care in patients' has been a patient safety commissioner in England since 2022.
BBC News
03-04-2025
- Health
- BBC News
'London trauma centres help ease my nightmares'
A woman who was unable to walk after a serious car crash has been helped by a new scheme aimed at supporting London during major incidents, including terror attacks, by having psychologists in hospitals' trauma Thomas, from Luton, was driving to work in February 2024 when she was caught in a multiple-vehicle pile-up and had to be cut out of her car. She sustained injuries to her spine, brain and hip, and needed help to walk again. But the impact was not just physical. Shelah also suffered mental health effects, including memory loss and anxiety."I was really struggling to deal with everything that had happened, with the sense of loss I was feeling," she said. "I couldn't sleep or stop crying, I kept having nightmares and flashbacks."I didn't realise mentally how the accident had affected me."A pilot project at London's four major trauma centres helped Shelah rebuild her life through psychological support. 'Healing the mind' The project involves psychology teams placed in the trauma centres at King's College Hospital, Royal London Hospital, St George's Hospital, and St Mary's Hospital in Paddington - where Shelah was scheme has a wider aim too: it allows support to be quickly stepped up in the event of a major incident in London, from serious crashes to terror attacks. "In something like the Hainault sword attack or the Wimbledon car crash, the major trauma centres' psychology teams come together to provide support not just for the victims but also for witnesses, families, and of course for medical staff as well," said Professor Karim Brohi, clinical director of the London major trauma was treated by lead clinical psychologist Dr Helen Devonshire, who said: "There is growing recognition that trauma healthcare is not just about fixing the body but also healing the mind." A study has found that 30 to 40% of patients who experience major traumatic injury report serious long-term psychological disorders. "We know around 35% of trauma patients struggle to resume employment and education", said Dr Idit Albert, clinical lead for the pan London major trauma psychology network."So it's really important that we can identify and treat psychological difficulties at a suitably early stage."The pilot project, which is looking to be renewed, supported more than 5,000 patients - both adults and children - in its first is funded and led by the NHS London Violence Reduction programme, coordinated by Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust and West London NHS Trust. Shelah said the psychology team helped her return to work and piece her life back together. "I'm able to go out and do little tasks that people take for granted, like shopping, getting back into my car, and driving to work," she has also been able to return to the scene to lay flowers for one of the drivers in the accident who died. It brought some sense of closure and was a huge step in her ongoing recovery, she said.
