Latest news with #doctorstrike
The Independent
4 hours ago
- Health
- The Independent
Row over NHS doctor strike deepens as poll suggests public support is waning
The row between the British Medical Association (BMA) and health leaders over the upcoming doctor strike has deepened as research suggests public support for the action is waning. NHS Providers, which represents hospital trusts, hit back at BMA claims that health leaders were putting patients at risk, saying it was actually the 'costly' BMA strike that was risking patient care. It comes as Health Secretary Wes Streeting told the House of Commons he 'sincerely hopes the BMA will postpone' the 'unnecessary and irresponsible' strikes to continue talks with the Government, which he said had been 'constructive' in recent days. He said, however, the Government stands 'ready' and 'responsive' if the five-day strike by resident doctors, which is scheduled to start at 7am on Friday, does go ahead. Earlier, the BMA said NHS England plans for managing the strike could put patients at risk owing to the fact it has ordered hospitals to continue with as much pre-planned care as possible. Previous strikes by health workers have seen hundreds of thousands of operations and appointments cancelled, but NHS England is taking a different approach this time to managing the strike. In a letter to hospital trust leaders, it urges the health system to focus on maintaining emergency care, maintaining the flow of patients and 'maintaining elective care to the fullest extent possible' as well as 'priority treatments' such as cancer care. 'It will be important for systems and trusts to try and maintain normal levels of booked activity…' it said, adding: 'Reducing volumes of bookings and rescheduling of appointments and other activity should only happen in exceptional circumstances to safeguard patient safety.' On Tuesday morning, BMA deputy chairwoman Dr Emma Runswick told BBC Radio 4's Today programme this plan risked patient safety. She said: 'We've had proven systems over the last decade that have made sure that where we have to take strike action, senior doctors cover urgency and critical care. 'This time round, NHS England are pushing for the continuation of non-urgent and scheduled care in a way that we think at best is confusing and will create on-the-day cancellations – and at worst could be risky and lead to harm in emergency departments and on wards, because senior doctors cannot physically be in two places at once. 'We think that a notional guidance from NHS England which is saying that basically all scheduled work should continue to go ahead has potential to be seriously risky for patients… 'Senior doctors are needed to be freed up in order to provide urgency and critical care. 'We think the vast majority of planned and unscheduled care should be shifted.' NHS Providers hit back at the BMA's claims, saying it was the strike itself that posed a risk to patients. Its chief executive, Daniel Elkeles, said: 'The NHS, not the BMA, is putting patients' interests first. 'Given that some patients will be caused undoubted harm if the short-notice strike goes ahead, NHS trusts are doing the responsible thing by not cancelling people's care while talks to avert the strike are ongoing. 'Now is a time for cool heads in the BMA because it's not too late to avoid a damaging, costly strike. NHS trust leaders hope for a breakthrough from talks between Government and the union. 'If the strike goes ahead then NHS trusts will do everything they can to avoid any harm to patients and are planning for as many patients as possible to be cared for.' It comes as a new YouGov poll showed about half (52%) of people in the UK either 'somewhat oppose' (20%) or 'strongly oppose' (32%) the idea of resident doctors going on strike over pay. Meanwhile, a third (34%) of the 4,954 adults surveyed either 'somewhat support' (23%) or 'strongly support' (11%) doctor strikes. YouGov said the proportion supporting the strike over pay has dropped five points since it last asked the question in May. Then, 48% opposed resident doctors striking, while 39% supported them taking action. Speaking in the Commons on Tuesday, Mr Streeting said that before he came into office, 'strikes were crippling the NHS'. He added: 'Costs ran to £1.7 billion in just one year, and patients saw 1.5 million appointments rescheduled. 'Strikes this week are not inevitable, and I sincerely hope the BMA will postpone this action to continue the constructive talks my team and I have had with them in recent days. 'Regardless, our priority is to keep patients safe, and we will do everything we can to mitigate the impacts of strikes on patients and the disruption that will follow should these totally unnecessary and avoidable strikes go ahead.' Quizzed by MPs, he said the 'approach we're taking is different from that taken in previous periods of strike action'. He added: 'NHS leaders have been clear to me that previous rounds of strike action caused much wider levels of harm than previously realised, and there is no reason why planned care in issues like cancer, for example, cancer appointments, as well as other conditions should be treated as somehow less important or second fiddle to other NHS services. 'That is why the chief executive of NHS England has written to NHS leaders asking them to keep routine operations going to the fullest extent possible, as well as continuing priority treatments. 'It will be for local leaders to determine what's possible given staffing levels. 'That's why it's really important that resident doctors do engage with their employers about their determination or not to turn up at work this week, and why again, I just spell out the serious consequences for patients that means that these avoidable and unnecessary strikes should not go ahead.' Elsewhere, the BMA has also issued strike guidance for consultants regarding the extra pay they can seek for covering work that is not in their contracts. The BMA 'rate card' says consultants can ask for £188 per hour on weekdays from 7am-7pm and £250 an hour from 7pm to 11pm. At weekends, the pay claim can rise to £250 per hour from 7am to 11am and £313 per hour for overnight work from 11pm to 7am. Resident doctors, formerly known as junior doctors, were awarded an average 5.4% pay increase this financial year, following a 22% rise over the previous two years. However, the BMA says real-terms pay has still fallen by around 20% since 2008, and is pushing for full 'pay restoration'. Resident doctors are qualified doctors in clinical training. They have completed a medical degree and can have up to nine years of working experience as a hospital doctor, depending on their specialty, or up to five years of working and gaining experience to become a GP.
Yahoo
6 hours ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Row over NHS doctor strike deepens as poll suggests public support is waning
The row between the British Medical Association (BMA) and health leaders over the upcoming doctor strike has deepened as research suggests public support for the action is waning. NHS Providers, which represents hospital trusts, hit back at BMA claims that health leaders were putting patients at risk, saying it was actually the 'costly' BMA strike that was risking patient care. It comes as Health Secretary Wes Streeting told the House of Commons he 'sincerely hopes the BMA will postpone' the 'unnecessary and irresponsible' strikes to continue talks with the Government, which he said had been 'constructive' in recent days. He said, however, the Government stands 'ready' and 'responsive' if the five-day strike by resident doctors, which is scheduled to start at 7am on Friday, does go ahead. Earlier, the BMA said NHS England plans for managing the strike could put patients at risk owing to the fact it has ordered hospitals to continue with as much pre-planned care as possible. We've written to NHS England with concerns about inadequate planning ahead of possible strike action later this week. Attempts to run non-urgent services with fewer doctors risk patient safety. It's imperative that Trusts postpone work to protect urgent and emergency care. — The BMA (@TheBMA) July 21, 2025 Previous strikes by health workers have seen hundreds of thousands of operations and appointments cancelled, but NHS England is taking a different approach this time to managing the strike. In a letter to hospital trust leaders, it urges the health system to focus on maintaining emergency care, maintaining the flow of patients and 'maintaining elective care to the fullest extent possible' as well as 'priority treatments' such as cancer care. 'It will be important for systems and trusts to try and maintain normal levels of booked activity…' it said, adding: 'Reducing volumes of bookings and rescheduling of appointments and other activity should only happen in exceptional circumstances to safeguard patient safety.' On Tuesday morning, BMA deputy chairwoman Dr Emma Runswick told BBC Radio 4's Today programme this plan risked patient safety. She said: 'We've had proven systems over the last decade that have made sure that where we have to take strike action, senior doctors cover urgency and critical care. 'This time round, NHS England are pushing for the continuation of non-urgent and scheduled care in a way that we think at best is confusing and will create on-the-day cancellations – and at worst could be risky and lead to harm in emergency departments and on wards, because senior doctors cannot physically be in two places at once. 'We think that a notional guidance from NHS England which is saying that basically all scheduled work should continue to go ahead has potential to be seriously risky for patients… 'Senior doctors are needed to be freed up in order to provide urgency and critical care. 'We think the vast majority of planned and unscheduled care should be shifted.' NHS Providers hit back at the BMA's claims, saying it was the strike itself that posed a risk to patients. Its chief executive, Daniel Elkeles, said: 'The NHS, not the BMA, is putting patients' interests first. 'Given that some patients will be caused undoubted harm if the short-notice strike goes ahead, NHS trusts are doing the responsible thing by not cancelling people's care while talks to avert the strike are ongoing. 'Now is a time for cool heads in the BMA because it's not too late to avoid a damaging, costly strike. NHS trust leaders hope for a breakthrough from talks between Government and the union. 'If the strike goes ahead then NHS trusts will do everything they can to avoid any harm to patients and are planning for as many patients as possible to be cared for.' It comes as a new YouGov poll showed about half (52%) of people in the UK either 'somewhat oppose' (20%) or 'strongly oppose' (32%) the idea of resident doctors going on strike over pay. Meanwhile, a third (34%) of the 4,954 adults surveyed either 'somewhat support' (23%) or 'strongly support' (11%) doctor strikes. YouGov said the proportion supporting the strike over pay has dropped five points since it last asked the question in May. Then, 48% opposed resident doctors striking, while 39% supported them taking action. Speaking in the Commons on Tuesday, Mr Streeting said that before he came into office, 'strikes were crippling the NHS'. He added: 'Costs ran to £1.7 billion in just one year, and patients saw 1.5 million appointments rescheduled. 'Strikes this week are not inevitable, and I sincerely hope the BMA will postpone this action to continue the constructive talks my team and I have had with them in recent days. 'Regardless, our priority is to keep patients safe, and we will do everything we can to mitigate the impacts of strikes on patients and the disruption that will follow should these totally unnecessary and avoidable strikes go ahead.' Quizzed by MPs, he said the 'approach we're taking is different from that taken in previous periods of strike action'. He added: 'NHS leaders have been clear to me that previous rounds of strike action caused much wider levels of harm than previously realised, and there is no reason why planned care in issues like cancer, for example, cancer appointments, as well as other conditions should be treated as somehow less important or second fiddle to other NHS services. 'That is why the chief executive of NHS England has written to NHS leaders asking them to keep routine operations going to the fullest extent possible, as well as continuing priority treatments. 'It will be for local leaders to determine what's possible given staffing levels. 'That's why it's really important that resident doctors do engage with their employers about their determination or not to turn up at work this week, and why again, I just spell out the serious consequences for patients that means that these avoidable and unnecessary strikes should not go ahead.' Consultants and SAS doctors in England – look out for your indicative ballot email from @TheBMA today! Wes Streeting called pay restoration "a journey, not an event" – so why have we stopped? Are you prepared to stand up to demand your value is recognised by the government? — Tom Dolphin🏳️🌈 🏳️⚧️ (@thomasdolphin) July 21, 2025 Elsewhere, the BMA has also issued strike guidance for consultants regarding the extra pay they can seek for covering work that is not in their contracts. The BMA 'rate card' says consultants can ask for £188 per hour on weekdays from 7am-7pm and £250 an hour from 7pm to 11pm. At weekends, the pay claim can rise to £250 per hour from 7am to 11am and £313 per hour for overnight work from 11pm to 7am. Resident doctors, formerly known as junior doctors, were awarded an average 5.4% pay increase this financial year, following a 22% rise over the previous two years. However, the BMA says real-terms pay has still fallen by around 20% since 2008, and is pushing for full 'pay restoration'. Resident doctors are qualified doctors in clinical training. They have completed a medical degree and can have up to nine years of working experience as a hospital doctor, depending on their specialty, or up to five years of working and gaining experience to become a GP.
The Independent
14-07-2025
- Health
- The Independent
Resident doctors acting in ‘unconscionable way' over strikes
The Health Secretary has said a member of his own family is waiting for an 'inevitable' phone call to tell them their NHS procedure has been postponed as a result of planned resident doctor strike action. Wes Streeting also said the British Medical Association (BMA) is acting in an 'unconscionable' way by telling members not to tell their employers if they are planning to strike. Mr Streeting said he 'cannot fathom' why 'any doctor in good conscience would make it harder for managers to make sure we have safe staffing levels'. And the Cabinet minister said that he does not see a 'reasonable trade union partner' in the Resident Doctors Committee (RDC) of the BMA 'at this time'. The comments come ahead of crunch talks between the union and the Government this week. Ministers have said they will not budge on pay but are willing to discuss other issues facing resident doctors. The BMA announced last week that resident doctors – formerly known as junior doctors – in England would walk out for five consecutive days from 7am on July 25 amid an ongoing pay dispute with the Government. 'We can mitigate against the impact of strikes, and we will, but what we cannot do is promise that there will be no consequence and no delay, no further suffering, because there are lots of people whose procedures are scheduled over that weekend period and in the period subsequently, where the NHS has to recover from the industrial action, who will see their operations and appointments delayed,' Mr Streeting told the House of Commons' Health and Social Care Committee. 'I have a relative in that position. 'My family are currently dreading what I fear is an inevitable phone call saying that there is going to be a delay to this procedure. 'And I just think this is an unconscionable thing to do to the public, not least given the 28.9% pay rise.' He went on: 'The other thing that I have found actually shockingly irresponsible about the BMA's position is their leaders seem to be telling their members not to inform their trusts or their employers if they're going out on strike. 'Now, I might not agree with the BMA strike action, but I do accept they have a right to strike. 'I do accept they follow the rules in order to go on strike. '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. 'So I just think the sort of the BMA's approach to this from start to finish has been completely wrong.' The Health Secretary added: 'And the idea that doctors would go on strike without informing their employer, not allowing planning for safe staffing, I think, is unconscionable, and I would urge resident doctors who are taking part in strike actions, do the right thing.' Daniel Elkeles, chief executive of NHS Providers, said: 'It is correct that under current legislation a member of a union does not need to tell their employer if they are going to take strike action. 'But given the huge disruption and harm to patients caused by strikes we'd encourage doctors to help minimise the risk and help hospitals plan with the best information. Surely patients must come first.' Mr Streeting also said he was 'pleased' the BMA had taken up the offer of a meeting this week 'to see if we can avert strike action'. But he also told the committee there is 'no room for manoeuvre' on pay and that talks would focus on other ways to improve the working lives of resident doctors. 'I think it would be a catastrophic mistake for the BMA to throw all of that progress into reverse by walking out on strike,' Mr Streeting added. The Health Secretary said that resident doctors had 'chosen confrontation', and told MPs: 'I don't see a reasonable trade union partner in the RDC section of the BMA at this time.' He added: 'I do regret that they are in danger of squandering the opportunity of partnership in favour of a more adversarial approach, which is unnecessary and I fear will prove self-defeating, because if these strikes go ahead with the financial costs that are entailed, not to mention the misery inflicted on patients, we have to find that money from somewhere, and that will come at the expense of things that they value.' Mr Streeting said he was 'proud of the deal' struck with the BMA last year to end the previous tranche of walkouts. Meanwhile, NHS England boss Sir Jim Mackey told the committee: 'Everybody respects the right to strike, but this is hugely disruptive, much more disruptive than we've been able to describe so far.' He added: 'A lot of this narrow definition about what's 'technically necessary', I don't accept – it's not that straightforward and we won't be accepting that kind of process this time. 'So I really hope that this is avoidable, but we also can't allow this to play out in a way that it did last time, with a huge impact on people's lives, colleagues working in the service, a cancellation and a disruption of clinical pathways. 'There's a whole range of other disruption that comes with this that we must avoid at all costs.' The union has said that resident doctors need a pay uplift of 29.2% to reverse 'pay erosion' since 2008/09. In September, BMA members voted to accept a Government pay deal worth 22.3% on average over two years. The 2025/26 pay deal saw resident doctors given a 4% uplift plus £750 'on a consolidated basis' – working out as an average pay rise of 5.4%.
CNA
14-07-2025
- Health
- CNA
South Korea medical students end 17-month class boycott
SEOUL: Thousands of South Korean medical students are set to return to classrooms after a 17-month boycott, an industry body told AFP on Monday (Jul 14), ending part of a standoff which also saw junior doctors strike. South Korean healthcare was plunged into chaos early last year when then-president Yoon Suk Yeol moved to sharply increase medical school admissions, citing an urgent need to boost doctor numbers to meet growing demand in a rapidly aging society. The initiative met fierce protest, prompting junior doctors to walk away from hospitals and medical students to boycott their classrooms, with operations cancelled and service provision disrupted nationwide. The measure was later watered down, and the government eventually offered to scrap it in March 2025, after Yoon was impeached over his disastrous declaration of martial law. "Students have agreed to return to school," a spokesperson for the Korean Medical Association told AFP Monday, adding that it was up to each medical school to decide the schedule for student returns. The Korean Medical Students' Association said in an earlier statement that the students had reached this decision because a continued boycott "could cause the collapse of the fundamentals of medical systems". Some 8,300 students are expected to return to school, but no specific timeline has been provided. Prime Minister Kim Min-seok welcomed the decision, calling it a "big step forward" in a Facebook post Sunday, adding President Lee Jae Myung was deliberating ways to solve the issue. In addition to the student boycott, some 12,000 junior doctors went on strike last year - with the vast majority of them still declining to return to work. Lee - who took office in June after winning snap elections following Yoon's removal from office - had said on the campaign trail he would seek to resolve the medical strike. The increase in medical school admissions led to a record number of students re-taking the college entrance exam in November in a bid to capitalise on reforms that made it easier to get into coveted majors.
The Sun
11-07-2025
- Health
- The Sun
TV professor Robert Winston QUITS top medical union over ‘dangerous' doctor strikes & says ‘this isn't the time'
The professor has stressed that it's 'important that doctors consider their own responsibility much more seriously' DOC SHOCK TV professor Robert Winston QUITS top medical union over 'dangerous' doctor strikes & says 'this isn't the time' A RENOWNED doctor has resigned from a top medical union after slamming "highly dangerous" planned strikes by medics. Professor Lord Robert Winston - who pioneered IVF treatments in the UK - has quit after more than 60 years as a member of the British Medical Association (BMA), ahead of strike action later this month. The professor, 84, who came to fame through his TV documentaries on child development, believes "now isn't the time" for strikes as they risk "long-term damage" to the public's faith in doctors. Earlier this week, the BMA announced that resident doctors (previously known as junior doctors) in England would walk out for five straight days from 7am on July 25 over disputes with pay. Professor Winston told The Times: "I've paid my membership for a long time. I feel very strongly that this isn't the time to be striking. "I think that the country is really struggling in all sorts of ways, people are struggling in all sorts of ways. Strike action completely ignores the vulnerability of people in front of you." The professor, who has been a member of the union ever since he qualified as a doctor, quit the BMA on Thursday but has urged the union to reconsider its decision. He stressed that it's "important that doctors consider their own responsibility much more seriously". Professor Winston was made a life peer in 1995 and has presented a number of major scientific BBC series including Child of Our Time and The Human Body. He hopes that the BMA will abandon its strike plans and work with ministers to negotiate solutions with the government and bring about improvements to "appalling" working conditions and night shifts. Health Secretary Wes Streeting called for resident doctors to "abandon their unreasonable rush to strike" and said that NHS recovery is "fragile". Mr Streeting told the Commons on Thursday: "We have put the NHS on the road to recovery, but we all know that the NHS is still hanging by a thread, and that the BMA is threatening to pull it." More to follow... For the latest news on this story keep checking back at The Sun Online is your go-to destination for the best celebrity news, real-life stories, jaw-dropping pictures and must-see video. Like us on Facebook at and follow us from our main Twitter account at @TheSun.
