Latest news with #patientharm
BBC News
24-07-2025
- Health
- BBC News
Resident doctor strike will harm patients, NHS boss warns
The strike by resident doctors, which starts on Friday in England, is not acceptable because of the harm it will cause patients, says a senior NHS Tim Briggs, who is a national director at NHS England and has been involved with talks with the BMA on strike planning, says while doctors have a right to strike it should never lead to patient harm - but it is now clear the walkouts by resident doctors will harm doctors – the new term for junior doctors – will start a five-day strike at 07:00 BST doctors are being asked to provide cover, but Prof Briggs is worried about the impact it will have on both emergency and non-urgent care. NHS England is aiming to keep the majority of non-urgent care, such as knee and hip operations, going during this strike, which marks a change in approach compared with previous industrial action when such treatment was cancelled BMA believes this approach is not safe – and says non-urgent care should be cancelled in many cases to ensure emergency services are better doctors have been involved in 11 strikes in their long-running pay have led to the cancellation of more than a million treatments and Briggs told the BBC: "We know from the pandemic and the last strike that if you cancel those [non-urgent] patients many have been waiting a significant amount of time, those patients come to harm."You cannot decouple elective and emergency care, the two go together."He said that was because cancelled operations can have serious adverse effects on patients both mentally and physically, citing examples of patients facing long waits for a hip replacement and being left on strong painkillers unable to get out of their chair or go upstairs." BMA leader Dr Tom Dolphin said: "We are very sorry that strikes have become necessary and of course if people have emergencies or need urgent care they should still present to the hospital or their GP as usual, as they always would."Striking is something that doctors don't want to have to do," he said, adding that the walkouts could have been avoided if "a real pathway" had been made on restoring the "lost value" of pay. He said the BMA was still open to further discussions about resolving the dispute. The strike is going ahead after talks between the government and BMA broke down on five days of talks the two sides discussed extra financial support for resident doctors to cover the cost of exam fees and equipment as well as faster career BMA asked for a scheme to help write off student loans, but the government rejected of the talks, Health Secretary Wes Streeting made it clear he would not revisit this year's pay doctors were given an average rise of 5.4% - and this came after an increase of more than 20% over the previous two NHS managers have also criticised what they say are inflated shift rates being requested by senior doctors to provide cover for striking resident Elkeles, of NHS Providers, which represents health managers, said the strike would be a "crushing blow" for said another "huge worry" was the cost, saying the BMA had recommended senior doctors ask for "inflated rates" that were "simply unaffordable"The BMA has recommended senior doctors insist on premium rates that for consultants can exceed £300 an hour for night can mean they can earn three times what they normally BMA said doctors needed to be incentivised to take on this extra work.
The Independent
22-07-2025
- Health
- The Independent
NHS England approach to doctors' strike ‘seriously risky', BMA warns
A senior doctors' union leader has warned NHS England's approach to the upcoming five-day strike by resident doctors is 'seriously risky' and could lead to patient harm in emergency departments. British Medical Association (BMA) deputy chairwoman Dr Emma Runswick told BBC Radio 4's Today programme on Tuesday that guidance issued by the health service to keep most planned care running during the walkout could cause dangerous confusion and overstretch staff. '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,' she said. '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.' Her comments come amid an escalating row between NHS bosses and the BMA over how hospitals should respond to the strike, which is due to begin at 7am on Friday. During previous rounds of industrial action in 2023 and 2024, NHS England told trusts to cancel large volumes of non-urgent care so that consultants could step in to cover emergency services. But under the leadership of new NHS England chief executive Sir Jim Mackey, hospitals have now been instructed to cancel non-urgent work only in 'exceptional circumstances' – and only with prior approval. The BMA argues this new approach risks spreading non-striking doctors too thinly, with Dr Runswick warning: '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. 'There are always, in every hospital, local medical managers, local clinical leaders, who will make decisions about what is safe to go ahead – but trying to maintain scheduled care during this strike is not safe in many cases.' When asked why the union could not avoid strikes altogether, she said walkouts can be delivered safely if planned properly. 'Strikes by doctors do not have to be risky,' she said. 'Strikes by doctors have been run safely in 2016 and 2022, 2023, 2024. 'We are entirely capable of running strikes safely – they just have to be planned for with local medical leadership, and we've done that before. We can do it again.' She said the BMA was still hopeful a resolution could be reached before the walkout begins and was 'keen to work with NHS England to ensure they are best planned for the safest care'. Talks between the Government and the BMA have continued in recent days, with Health Secretary Wes Streeting ruling out any additional pay rise this year but indicating other aspects of the contract – such as student debt, exam fees and working conditions – may be up for negotiation. 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'.
Yahoo
22-07-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
NHS England approach to doctors' strike ‘seriously risky', BMA warns
A senior doctors' union leader has warned NHS England's approach to the upcoming five-day strike by resident doctors is 'seriously risky' and could lead to patient harm in emergency departments. British Medical Association (BMA) deputy chairwoman Dr Emma Runswick told BBC Radio 4's Today programme on Tuesday that guidance issued by the health service to keep most planned care running during the walkout could cause dangerous confusion and overstretch staff. '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,' she said. '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.' Her comments come amid an escalating row between NHS bosses and the BMA over how hospitals should respond to the strike, which is due to begin at 7am on Friday. During previous rounds of industrial action in 2023 and 2024, NHS England told trusts to cancel large volumes of non-urgent care so that consultants could step in to cover emergency services. But under the leadership of new NHS England chief executive Sir Jim Mackey, hospitals have now been instructed to cancel non-urgent work only in 'exceptional circumstances' – and only with prior approval. The BMA argues this new approach risks spreading non-striking doctors too thinly, with Dr Runswick warning: '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. 'There are always, in every hospital, local medical managers, local clinical leaders, who will make decisions about what is safe to go ahead – but trying to maintain scheduled care during this strike is not safe in many cases.' When asked why the union could not avoid strikes altogether, she said walkouts can be delivered safely if planned properly. 'Strikes by doctors do not have to be risky,' she said. 'Strikes by doctors have been run safely in 2016 and 2022, 2023, 2024. 'We are entirely capable of running strikes safely – they just have to be planned for with local medical leadership, and we've done that before. We can do it again.' She said the BMA was still hopeful a resolution could be reached before the walkout begins and was 'keen to work with NHS England to ensure they are best planned for the safest care'. Talks between the Government and the BMA have continued in recent days, with Health Secretary Wes Streeting ruling out any additional pay rise this year but indicating other aspects of the contract – such as student debt, exam fees and working conditions – may be up for negotiation. 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'.
Daily Mail
20-07-2025
- Health
- Daily Mail
NHS CEO orders hospitals to be tough with striking doctors and not 'tolerate harm and risk' to patients caused by major walkout starting this week
The head of NHS England has demanded hospital bosses get tough on resident doctors to prevent major harm to patients being caused by a strike due to start this week. The British Medical Association has vowed emergency and maternity services will remain covered when medics walk out for five days from Friday. But Sir Jim Mackey, the chief executive of NHS England, said that previous industrial action from residents - formerly junior doctors - had cause more harm to patients than previously thought. Speaking ahead of the walkout he said the cancellation and postponement of elective surgery had had a major knock-on effect, telling the Sunday Times: '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... 'I personally met patients and families in my trust (Newcastle), who'd had a late cancer diagnosis, a late Parkinson's diagnosis, who came to harm later on that were not caught in that initial assessment and reporting.' The last round of strikes, which also included walkouts by other health workers, came at an estimated cost of £1.5 billion to the NHS in England. Some 1.5 million appointments, procedures and operations were postponed as a result of the stoppages. On Thursday, The Times reported that it had seen an audit which found that five patients died as a result of disruption linked to strikes by junior doctors in 2023 and 2024. One prevention of future death report detailed how 71-year-old Daphne Austin, who had a kidney injury, died after getting 'no medical input' on one of the strike days because the consultant who was covering was in charge of 25 patients. Another states that 60-year-old John Doyle died of 'natural causes against a background of missed opportunities to diagnose and treat cytomegalovirus infection, together with the impact of the resident (formerly junior) doctors' strike on the provision of consistent patient care'. Last September resident doctors voted to accept a Government pay deal worth 22.3 per cent on average over two years. The 2025/26 pay deal saw resident doctors given a 4 per cent increase plus £750 'on a consolidated basis', working out as an average rise of 5.4 per cent. Government officials said these two increases equate to a 28.9 per cent pay rise. But the BMA now says they need 29.2 per cent to reverse 'pay erosion' since 2008/09. After meeting union leaders on Thursday, Health Secretary Wes Streeting reiterated that 'we cannot move on pay after a 28.9 per cent pay rise' but the Government is looking at ways to improve resident doctors' working lives.
New York Times
15-07-2025
- Health
- New York Times
Even Grave Errors at Rehab Hospitals Go Unpenalized and Undisclosed
Rehab hospitals that help people recover from major surgeries and injuries have become a highly lucrative slice of the health care business. But federal data and inspection reports show that some run by the dominant company, Encompass Health Corporation, and other for-profit corporations have had rare but serious incidents of patient harm and perform below average on two key safety measures tracked by Medicare. Yet even when inspections reveal grave cases of injury, federal health officials do not inform consumers or impose fines the way they do for nursing homes. And Medicare doesn't provide easy to understand five-star ratings as it does for general hospitals. In the most serious problems documented by regulators, rehab hospital errors involved patient deaths. In Encompass Health's hospital in Huntington, Elizabeth VanBibber, 73, was fatally poisoned by a carbon monoxide leak during construction at the facility. At its hospital in Jackson, Tenn., a patient, 68, was found dead overnight, lying on the floor in a 'pool of blood' after an alarm that was supposed to alert nurses that he had gotten out of bed had been turned off. In its hospital in Sioux Falls, S.D., a nurse gave Frederick Roufs, 73, the wrong drug, one of 26 medication errors the hospital made over six months. He died two days later at another hospital. For-profit rehab facilities now treat most patients. Encompass Health is the largest chain. Source: KFF Health News and The New York Times By The New York Times Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
