Junior Doctors in England Strike for Pay Rise, Causing Crisis in NHS Services

Somerset ∙ NHS junior doctors in England are on strike from today to demand a pay rise. The crisis in NHS services will worsen following the strike. The junior doctors went on yet another 72-hour strike following the failure of negotiations in May over a salary hike. The strike will take place from 7am on Wednesday to 7am on Saturday 17th June. The strike was announced by the British Medical Association (BMA), a union of doctors and medical students. The BMA said the government’s promise of a 5% increase was “not credible” after discussions with government representatives.

The government representatives said that only if the strike is called off, the salary negotiations can continue. This is the third strike by junior doctors after demanding a pay hike. The junior doctors went on strike in March and April. But government representatives said the 5% salary increase offered after government talks with the BMA was reasonable. Government representatives also pointed out that it was disappointing that the BMA had announced a strike while negotiations were ongoing. The BMA is demanding a 35% increase.

Half of all doctors and GPs in England’s hospitals are junior doctors. There are 46,000 junior doctors in the UK in the BMA, which is leading the strike. A strike by junior doctors would therefore cause significant strain on the NHS. NHS chiefs have announced that the consequences will be huge. As the temperature in the country has risen to 30 degrees Celsius, the elderly have also been warned to be careful.

NHS chiefs said thousands of appointments and operations had already had to be cancelled. About 27,000 people went on strike in the last strike in April. 196,000 appointments had to be postponed that day. There is a general demand for urgent action to end the disputes between union leaders and ministers over pay.

NHS England medical director Professor Stephen Powis said the strike would have a significant impact on patient care and waiting lists. The BMA has warned that strikes will continue throughout the summer unless the government delivers better pay rises. The warning calls for at least three days of strike a month until the right to strike expires in August.

English Summary: Junior doctors in england go on strike today