Junior doctors are taking part in the longest walkout in the 75-year history of the NHS as a long-running pay dispute grinds on. It follows 28 days of strikes by junior doctors since March.
When are junior doctors striking?
Junior doctors in England began a six-day strike on Wednesday. They will not work shifts that begin after 7am on Wednesday, January 3, or before 7am on Tuesday, January 9. If they are already at work, they will finish their shift before striking.
Do junior doctors get paid while on strike?
No, doctors taking industrial action will not get paid. The British Medical Association (BMA) has suggested that doctors should save in order to cover the cost of striking. It also has a strike fund — the first in the union’s history — for any striking member facing particular financial hardship.
How bad is the impact going to be?
The NHS is prioritising emergency and urgent care, such as A&E and maternity services. Senior doctors are being moved to provide cover in those areas and the routine care that they and their juniors would have offered is being cancelled.
Thousands of operations and appointments will be affected, with the total number of cancellations because of the strikes expected to top one million this week.
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Although the action is only a day longer than the five days in July, it comes at a far worse time for the NHS. The week after Christmas and new year is typically the busiest for hospitals, with the circulation of winter bugs, flu and coronavirus.
Health service leaders have said that the NHS is “skating on thin ice”. Layla McCay, from the NHS Confederation, said: “The rotas are just about covered [during the strike] but it only takes a consultant or two to go off sick … then that is going to put the entire plan in jeopardy.”
What do the doctors want?
The BMA is seeking “full pay restoration” for junior doctors to 2008 levels, which would be the equivalent of a 35 per cent pay increase. This could be spread over a number of years, the union says.
What has the government offered?
Talks broke down after ministers offered a 3 per cent bump to the 8.8 per cent rise that junior doctors received last summer.
How likely is it to end soon?
The health secretary, Victoria Atkins, has said that she is keen to find a “fair and reasonable solution” but that talks cannot take place while strikes are scheduled.
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BMA leaders say strikes are their only leverage and insist it is government intransigence that has left them with no other option.
However, on Wednesday, Vivek Trivedi, co-chairman of the BMA’s junior doctors’ committee, said this action could be the last and suggested the BMA was willing to create a window for negotiations.
What about other doctors?
Consultants and a third group of doctors, specialty and associate specialist (SAS) doctors, have reached a deal with the government. Union members are voting on whether to accept the deal.
What should I do if I need NHS care?
NHS advice is to seek care in the normal way. If you have an appointment and have not been told it is cancelled, you should still attend.
Pharmacies and GP surgeries should be operating as usual. You should call 999 or go to A&E in life-threatening emergencies and use NHS 111 online or on the phone for non-urgent help.
