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More than 200,000 appointments and operations were cancelled last week due the junior doctor strikes, taking the total number of cancellations to over half a million, according to the NHS Confederation.
Matthew Taylor, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, said the strike action is “going on much longer than expected” and it will have “long-term consequences” for patients.
He added that NHS leaders are “greatly concerned” by the prospect of further action, as this will inevitably harm staff’s efforts to reduce the backlog of care.
Ambulance workers and nurses set to strike over Early May Bank Holiday
And now, even more appointments are set to be cancelled or postponed after the Royal College of Nursing rejected the government’s pay offer, with nurses set to strike from 8pm on 30 April to 8pm on 2 May.
Emergency services will also be affected over the bank holiday weekend, with members of Guy’s and St Thomas’ and Yorkshire Ambulance Service set to strike on Monday 1 May and Unite members set to strike on Tuesday 2 May.
Although the ballot result has not yet been announced for Unite members, general secretary Sharon Graham says she does not believe the pay offer will be “good enough” for ambulance staff.
“A lump sum payment and yet another real terms pay cut doesn’t meet the challenges faced by NHS workers,” she said. “Where our members have indicated that they want to swiftly return to the picket line, Unite is ensuring they are able to do so.”
Junior doctors understand patients’ frustrations
Dr Vivek Trivedi and Dr Robert Laurenson, BMA junior doctors committee co-chairs, say they “know all too well” the frustration of patients waiting too long for care, and that junior doctors are facing difficult conversations with patients every day. However, these patients are not in this position because of the strikes, they say.
“Persistent under-resourcing of the health service and under-valuing staff – exacerbated by a pandemic – mean we simply don’t have the workforce and capacity to provide the high-quality and timely care that patients need and deserve.
“This is why we have been led to strike, and while we share the frustration of anyone who had their care disrupted during the industrial action, this is the same frustration we’re already experiencing on a daily basis because the NHS cannot cope,” said Dr Trivedi and Dr Laurenson.
They add that they are willing to open talks with the health secretary, Steve Barclay, but he continues to demand that the BMA drops its opening position of calling for a reversal of pay erosion before he will even enter discussions.
Dr Trivedi and Dr Laurenson are now urging the government to drop its barriers to talks and meet with them “in good faith” so that the dispute can be resolved “for the good of junior doctors, patients and the NHS.”