England
The potential cancellation of 350,000 appointments and operations due to a four-day strike by junior doctors in England this week has been described as “extremely worrying” by NHS Confederation chief executive Matthew Taylor. The British Medical Association (BMA) is demanding a 35% pay rise, citing 15 years of below-inflation wage rises that have caused a recruitment and retention crisis.
Health Secretary Steve Barclay has said the demand is “unrealistic”, but the BMA has argued that he has yet to put a serious offer on the table. In response to the situation, Mr Taylor has suggested that the government and junior doctors’ unions should call on the independent public body Acas for help with talks. Acas, which receives funding from the government, is a conciliation service that attempts to help settle disputes between employers and employees when both sides can reach an agreement.
Mr Taylor said: “It’s depressing that there seems to be no movement at all from the two sides of this dispute over the last few days. We should consider asking the government and the trade unions to call in Acas, the conciliation service, to provide some basis for negotiations, because if anything the positions seem to have hardened over the last couple of days.” He added that the intervention was needed to avoid even further strikes, and that the impact of thousands of junior doctors striking would be “enormous”.
The strike is set to be the most disruptive walkout in NHS history, with walkouts across both planned and emergency care. GP surgeries are suspending routine appointments for up to a week due to the strikes, and mental health and some GP services will also be affected. It follows an estimated 86,000 junior doctors striking in March in a 72-hour walkout, which caused more than 175,000 patient appointments and procedures to be cancelled in England.
The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has been contacted for comment, while the BMA has refused to exempt any services. However, they have said plans are in place to pull junior doctors off the picket line if lives are in danger. Mr Taylor said NHS leaders were “genuinely worried” about the situation, as it would lead to longer waiting lists and an inability to guarantee the level of care they wanted to provide.
In order to prevent further disruption and ensure patient safety, Mr Taylor has urged the government and junior doctors’ unions to call on Acas for help with talks. Acas is an impartial body that does not take sides, and has recently been involved in mediation in the Royal Mail and higher education strike disputes. It is hoped that their intervention will help both sides reach an agreement and prevent further strikes.