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Wes Streeting believes doctors ‘rushed' to strike
Wes Streeting believes doctors ‘rushed' to strike

The Independent

time3 hours ago

  • Health
  • The Independent

Wes Streeting believes doctors ‘rushed' to strike

Health Secretary Wes Streeting accused resident doctors of squandering "considerable goodwill" by staging a five-day strike across England. Streeting stated he remains open to negotiations with the British Medical Association 's resident doctors committee, despite accusing them of "rushing" to strike. He reiterated that the government cannot offer pay rises but is prepared to discuss working conditions, career progression, and other financial benefits. The BMA co-chairs urged Streeting to make a credible offer, stating they want this to be their last strike. The strike impacted patients and the NHS, though fewer appointments were postponed compared to previous walkouts, which collectively led to 1.5 million cancellations.

GPs threaten Streeting with winter strike
GPs threaten Streeting with winter strike

Telegraph

time3 hours ago

  • Health
  • Telegraph

GPs threaten Streeting with winter strike

GPs are threatening winter strikes over Wes Streeting's plan to save the NHS. Leaders of the British Medical Association 's (BMA) GP committee have warned the Health Secretary they will consider re-entering a dispute this autumn if their demands are not met. Family doctors want to lead new 'community hubs' announced as part of Mr Streeting's 10-year health plan, as well as a new funding agreement for practices. They could be joined on the picket lines by other doctors and NHS staff this autumn, with resident doctors – formerly junior doctors – consultants, nurses, and other healthcare workers all eyeing ballots later this year. The threat came as a five-day walkout by junior doctors came to an end on Wednesday morning, with Mr Streeting telling union leaders the strikes were 'self-defeating' and had 'a detrimental impact on patients, your members, your colleagues and the NHS'. But the BMA's GP leaders were undeterred, writing a letter to Mr Streeting and Stephen Kinnock, the health minister, setting out six demands they want met by mid-September to avert industrial action. Family doctors took 'collective action' last year over contract funding, which saw them take 'work-to-rule' measures, such as limiting patient appointments per day and only seeing people in person. The fresh dispute covers pay, contract funding, and how much extra money they will get to work in and to run new health hubs, among other issues. The ambitious health hubs plan to offer a range of services under one roof, including same day GP appointments and walk-in dental slots, but little guidance has been given about who will run them. GPs are said to be 'alarmed' by hospital leaders' early efforts to make themselves central to the plans, sparking a request for clarity on who is in charge as a demand by the BMA. Dr Katie Bramall-Stainer, the chair of the BMA's GP committee, told ministers that the landmark 10-year health plan and current contract situation meant the profession was at a 'critical juncture'. She said the plan, which was unveiled by Sir Keir Starmer at a pilot health hub in east London in July, threatened the existence of 'the traditional NHS partnership model of general practice'. 'The current trajectory threatens the survival of the independent contractor model and, with it, NHS general practice and the trusted family doctor relationship our patients rely on and want to protect,' she said. Dr Bramall-Stainer also said there was 'disappointment and confusion around the Government's failure to explicitly commit or even mention the delivery of a new GMS [General Medical Service] contract within the plan's pages'. GP funding for the current financial year increased by £1bn on the year before following an extra cash injection worth £123m to cover family doctors higher-than-expected 4 per cent pay rise, as revealed by GPonline. The committee voted against re-entering a dispute on July 17 but with a view to holding another vote in September. Its other demands include a reimbursement scheme to reduce the number of GPs who are currently unemployed, despite rising demand for family doctors, an extension of the clinical negligence scheme, and for the Government to be 'explicit in its preference for general practice to lead single neighbourhood providers'. Dr Bramall-Stainer told The Telegraph that the BMA's GP committee 'remains resolute in pressing for urgent action'. 'We will continue to develop a set of clear, deliverable demands – including restoring core funding – and we are actively listening to our members as we consider the next steps,' she said. 'This is a critical juncture whilst the Department of Health is allocating its additional £29bn from the comprehensive spending review between now and the end of August. We look forward to working with Government to secure these solutions.' Mr Streeting is facing pressure from staff across the NHS over pay, with salaries rises ranging from 3.6 per cent for most staff, to 5.4 per cent for junior doctors. The Royal College of Nursing will reveal results on Thursday that show the overwhelming majority of members want to 'reject' its 3.6 per cent rise, with the potential for a ballot on striking later this year. Healthcare workers represented by Unite and GMB trade unions, which represent other staff from paramedics to cleaners, have also rejected the pay award. The BMA's resident doctors' committee is demanding a 29 per cent pay rise to return the medics to 2008 levels of pay – despite receiving a 28.9 per cent uplift in just three years. And consultants are also holding an indicative ballot on their appetite to strike, with results due in September, although this will not give them a mandate for action. The resident doctors also entered a secondary dispute with the Government on Tuesday over 'training bottlenecks'. Data on the scale of disruption is set to be released later this week by the NHS. Tensions between health officials and doctors escalated throughout the strike as the union refused to accept at least 18 emergency strike exemption requests for doctors to return to work. Sir Jim Mackey, the NHS chief executive, accused the BMA of demanding 'extortionate pay' to get striking doctors to help. The BMA said this was 'untrue and unfounded'. A Department of Health spokesman said: 'This Government is fixing the front door of the NHS – we have made great progress together with GPs so far, including recruiting 2000 extra GPs in a year, securing a record funding boost for GP practices, and public satisfaction with GP services is finally on the rise. 'We are committed to working constructively with the BMA's GPC. GPs are front and centre of our 10 Year Health Plan but we can only realise the benefits for general practice by working together.'

Yusuf Nazir: New report examines death of boy who was sent home from hospital due to a 'lack of beds'
Yusuf Nazir: New report examines death of boy who was sent home from hospital due to a 'lack of beds'

Sky News

time8 hours ago

  • Health
  • Sky News

Yusuf Nazir: New report examines death of boy who was sent home from hospital due to a 'lack of beds'

The mother of a five-year-old boy who died after being sent home from hospital because of a "lack of beds" has told Sky News that the second report into his death "has not brought closure for the family". Yusuf Nazir died in November 2022. His mother Soniya had rushed her son to Rotherham Hospital's A&E, only to be told "there were no beds available". Yusuf was eventually seen by a doctor but then sent home. Soniya says the doctor told her that "Yusuf had the worst case of tonsillitis he had ever seen". But the child's health continued to deteriorate, and his desperately worried mother called an ambulance to rush him to the nearby specialist children's hospital in Sheffield. It was here, the report says, that a number of critical interventions were missed. Yusuf's family say that, if doctors had acted sooner, he would still be alive. Speaking in her first interview since Yusuf's death, Soniya described the panic she felt as a mother watching her son "dying in front of her eyes". "I carried Yusuf to the nurse, floppy with his eyes rolled back, struggling to breathe, myself to the nurse," Soniya said. "She said: 'We're too busy, we can't get a doctor, you'll have to wait.'" Other patients in the waiting room intervened when they saw Yusuf gasping for air and struggling to breathe, but they were told Yusuf's mother should approach the nurses herself if she was concerned. This second independent report was backed by Wes Streeting when he was shadow health secretary. A previous internal NHS report found no wrongdoing on the part of Rotherham Hospital. The family have described that report as a "whitewash". Their claim will be supported by this second report, which says: "It's clear that across all settings - primary care, pre-hospital, emergency and inpatient - the healthcare system failed to truly hear the family's voice." It also says staff should have listened to the "mother's instinct". "I knew he was very, very poorly, he was struggling to breath, he was lethargic, he was floppy," Soniya told Sky News. "I knew that something's not right before they even escalated it to the ICU. I knew he was very poorly but no one else picked it up." The health secretary told Sky News: "There are no excuses for the tragic failings in the lead up to Yusuf's death, and I know first-hand how hard it has been for his family to live without the answers they deserve. "This independent report reveals their concerns were repeatedly not addressed across NHS services. "It is now the responsibility of the NHS to implement the recommendations in this report so that the family can at least take small comfort in knowing that because of Yusuf - and thanks to Yusuf - children will be safer and better cared for in the future, but I know that really is of no consolation for a loving family living with the unimaginable pain of losing a lovely little boy in these awful circumstances." Part of the report's key findings shows Yusuf had 23 separate healthcare contacts across four NHS organisations that were responsible for his care, but there was no coordinated record or oversight. It found the clinical assessments that were made were inconsistent and led to difficulties in comparing his condition over time. Routine care prior to his crisis was marked by a wait-and-see approach that failed to pre-empt worsening conditions. It also recorded clinical staff at Sheffield used an outdated cannula method that failed to give Yusuf potentially life-saving drugs. Soniya says she pointed out the leaking cannula to Yusuf's nurses, but her concerns were brushed aside. "The cannula burst and the whole bed was full of his medication and blood on the morning he went to the ICU, the whole weekend he'd not had that medication," she said. "He'd have been in pain and he wouldn't have been getting any better if he wasn't having the medication. And I think that's the reason Yusuf's not here anymore. "From the moment he was in Sheffield Children's Hospital until the end I think he didn't get any treatment, it was just like him being at home." Soniya says she welcomes the report's findings that show Yusuf did not get the care he needed - but the investigation does not find a cause of death or apportion blame. The investigation has made national recommendations, including consultant-led oversight on weekends and giving parents visibility of their child's medical records. Sky News has closely followed the family's fight for answers since first reporting on Yusuf's case, two days after he died. 1:04 Dr Jeff Perring, executive medical director at Sheffield Children's NHS Foundation Trust, said: "We recognise the profound loss felt by Yusuf's family and those who loved him. "We will be reviewing the recommendations of the report and taking those forward through education, guidance, policy and training to deliver the best care for our children, young people and families." "We want change," Soniya says. "We want this not to happen to any other child. Because if they don't change, there's going to be another child and another mother sat here telling you the same story." Dr Jo Beahan, medical director at The Rotherham NHS Foundation Trust, said: "Our deepest sympathies remain with Yusuf's family following such a sad loss of a loved family member. "Since November 2022, we have taken steps to address the concern relating to Yusuf's care which includes listening to the concerns of parents and carers. Our thoughts continue to be with Yusuf's family." Professor Aidan Fowler, national director of patient safety in England, said: "Our sympathies remain with Yusuf's family, and we acknowledge the heavy toll this investigation has placed on them - while grieving an unimaginable loss. "Following publication of the final report today, we will respond on the findings and how we will be taking forward the recommendations in the report to ensure there are continuing improvements in patient safety and care for children across NHS hospitals and services in the future." The Nazir family's fight is not over. This report cannot confirm Yusuf's cause of death, or say if his life could have been saved with better care. It is why Soniya is demanding a coroner's inquest into her son's death: so that she and her family can finally have closure.

Striking doctors have ‘squandered the goodwill' of government, health secretary says
Striking doctors have ‘squandered the goodwill' of government, health secretary says

The Independent

time13 hours ago

  • Health
  • The Independent

Striking doctors have ‘squandered the goodwill' of government, health secretary says

Resident doctors have squandered the 'considerable goodwill' they had with government after staging five days of strikes across England, the Health Secretary has said. Wes Streeting said he 'never left' the negotiating table, and that he is willing to meet with the resident doctors committee of the British Medical Association (BMA) to resume talks in their ongoing dispute over pay and working conditions. The Cabinet minister said following previous talks, he had outlined a package that 'could bring an end to this dispute', but he accused the union of 'rushing' to strike. In a letter to BMA resident doctors committee co-chairs Dr Ross Nieuwoudt and Dr Melissa Ryan, Mr Streeting said: 'Thank you for your letter of 29 July inviting me to get back to the negotiation table, which is ironic because I never left. 'I am ready to continue the conversation from where you left it. 'As I made clear last week, the decision taken by your committee to proceed with strike action over the past five days was deeply disappointing and entirely unnecessary given the seemingly promising discussions we had to explore areas where we could make substantive improvements to doctors' working lives. 'My letter to your committee, drafted following extensive engagement with you both, outlined a path to agreeing a package that could bring an end to this dispute. 'Had you and your committee not rushed to strike, we would be in the second of the 3 weeks I asked for to work intensively together to improve the working lives of your members.' Mr Streeting acknowledged a second dispute raised by the BMA about a lack of training places for doctors, but said this could have been 'avoided'. He went on: 'The consequences of your strike action have been a detrimental impact on patients, your members, your colleagues and the NHS, which might have been worse were it not for the considerable efforts of NHS leaders and front-line staff who stepped up. 'Your action has also been self-defeating, because you have squandered the considerable goodwill you had with me and this government. 'I cannot in good conscience let patients, or other NHS staff, pay the price for the costs of your decision.' He reiterated that the government 'cannot move on pay', but is 'prepared to negotiate on areas related to your conditions at work, career progression and tangible measures which would put money in your members' pockets'. Mr Streeting added: 'My door remains open to the hope that we can still build the partnership with resident doctors I aspired to when I came in a year ago and, in that spirit, I am happy to meet with you early next week.' In a statement, the co-chairs of the committee said: 'Resident doctors want this to have been their last strike. We are asking Mr Streeting to leave the political rhetoric behind and put the future of the NHS first. 'He could have prevented strike action if he had made a credible offer last week, instead of what we got: the offer of more talks. Now is the time to get serious. 'We're glad to hear Mr Streeting is open to new talks. Let's make them count.' Details on the number of appointments, procedures and operations postponed as a result are expected to be published later this week. It is expected that fewer patients were affected compared to previous strikes after hospitals were ordered to press ahead with as much pre-planned care as possible during the walkout across England, which ended at 7am on Wednesday. In previous walkouts, the majority of non-urgent care was postponed. Strikes across various NHS staff groups between 2022 and 2024 led to 1.5 million cancellations. And hospital leaders said that fewer resident doctors, formerly known as junior doctors, took to picket lines in the latest walkout compared to those which took place previously. NHS officials have said cancelled bookings would be rescheduled within two weeks, but warned of knock-on impacts for other patients.

Wes Streeting says striking doctors ‘will lose a war with this government'
Wes Streeting says striking doctors ‘will lose a war with this government'

The Guardian

time15 hours ago

  • Health
  • The Guardian

Wes Streeting says striking doctors ‘will lose a war with this government'

The doctors union 'will lose a war with this government', Wes Streeting has said, adding that the NHS is ready to tough out a prolonged series of strikes by the British Medical Association (BMA). In his most outspoken comments so far about the dispute involving resident doctors in England, the health secretary vowed that Labour would never give in to their demand for a 29% pay rise. However, in a plea to the BMA, he urged it to agree a deal based on tackling other frustrations those doctors have, separate to their salaries, in which both sides would 'win the peace'. Fresh talks are planned next week. For these to have any chance of success, Streeting said, the BMA should agree it will not call any more strikes and accept that other NHS staff deserve decent pay increases too, not just medics, who are already paid more than many colleagues. 'It should be clear to the BMA by now that they will lose a war with this government. It's not too late for us both to win the peace,' Streeting said in an opinion piece for the Guardian. It comes after the end of a five-day stoppage by thousands of resident doctors that disrupted NHS services including cancer care between last Friday and Wednesday morning. 'All I ask of the BMA is two things. The first is to drop this unnecessary and unreasonable rush to strike action. It mars doctors, it harms patients and it is fundamentally self-defeating because it leaves the NHS with less money to address the issues that doctors care about,' Streeting said. 'The second is to recognise that this government has a responsibility to all NHS staff and, above all, to patients. We can't fix everything for everyone everywhere all at once.' The chances of the negotiations succeeding appear slim. Rejecting a potential deal based on non-pay issues such as doctors being able to access hot food at night and having part of their exam fees covered, a BMA spokesperson said: 'This is still primarily a pay dispute and we don't accept there is no room to budge on pay. We need a credible offer on a path to pay restoration.' The BMA says resident doctors deserve such a hefty pay rise, despite having received an uplift of 22% over the last two years, because the real-terms value of their salaries since 2008 has been heavily eroded. The union has pledged to strike until it achieves 'full pay restoration'. Dr Ross Nieuwoudt and Dr Melissa Ryan, the co-chairs of the BMA's resident doctors committee, insisted that Streeting must find some way of upping their 5.4% pay award for 2025-26. The end of the five-day strike must be 'a moment for the health secretary to reconsider his strategy,' they said. If he does make an undefined 'credible offer' on pay then they said this week's walkout – the 12th by resident and formerly resident doctors since 2023 – could be their last. In Streeting's article, he also: Accused the BMA of causing 'damage' to the NHS through its 'reckless' long walkout. Claimed it deliberately sought to ruin through strikes the NHS's effort to cut its 7.4m-strong backlog of care, which Labour has pledged to eradicate by 2029. Said the BMA's 29% demand and strike had left other NHS staff 'dismayed and appalled'. Streeting, a kidney cancer survivor, related how he had spoken last weekend to a patient with the same disease whose operation was postponed until late next month because of the strike. Patients whose care had to be rescheduled ended up with 'fear and anxiety' as a result, he stressed. In remarks that may be interpreted as implying the BMA's 29% demand is greedy, Streeting pointed out that other health unions such as the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) and Unison were unhappy with their members' pay award – of 3.6% – but were not seeking the same huge uplift as the BMA and were not engaged in the same 'rush' to industrial action. The RCN will on Thursday publish the outcome of an indicative vote it has run among nurses in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, which is already known to have resulted in a majority coming out against the 3.6% award. Hospital bosses have made clear to the BMA that it must accept what Streeting has repeatedly insisted and that resident doctors will not force him to give a bigger pay award for this year. Rory Deighton, the acute and community care director at the NHS Confederation, which represents NHS hospital trusts, said: 'After a week of disruption to services, health leaders will be pleased that the BMA wants to resume talks. But it has to recognise the red lines set by the government, as the NHS must live within its means. 'We hope that this [exchange of letters] marks the beginning of a dialogue that can resolve this issue without further walkouts which would only see patients end up suffering the most.'

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