A record six-day strike by junior doctors begins tomorrow, as the Tory Government refuses to negotiate in a long-running pay dispute.
On standby: Croydon’s hospitals are preparing for a six-day junior doctor strike, starting tomorrow
“The walk-out comes at a challenging time for NHS staff as they work hard to meet the surge in demand that winter period brings,” NHS London said in a statement this morning.
The latest strike action follows a three-day walk-out last month.
“We continued to provide the most urgent planned treatment giving some patients the opportunity to begin their recovery in the comfort of their own homes before Christmas,” Matthew Kershaw, the chief executive at Croydon Health Services NHS Trust, which oversees the running of Croydon University and Purley War Memorial hospitals, told Inside Croydon.
“During the week’s industrial action by junior doctors, our focus remained on emergency and urgent care with staff working hard to provide care at safe levels and stepping in to provide care to those that need it,” Kershaw said.
In the latest action, doctors will strike from 7am tomorrow, January 3, through to 7am on January 9.
Stepping in: Croydon NHS chief Matthew Kershaw
NHS London says that because of industrial action that began in December 2022, the total of acute in-patient appointments cancelled due to the strikes stands at 33,000.
At the peak of the action, 4,501 staff were not at work in the capital.
Junior doctors make up around half of doctors in the NHS and, NHS London says, “despite extensive planning and cover arrangements in place, the latest strikes by junior doctors are expected to cause significant widespread disruption”.
Emergency care continues to be prioritised during the industrial action and people should still call 999 in life-threatening emergencies and contact NHS 111 for other health concerns, as well as local services including GPs and pharmacies.
“We are fast approaching 340,000 appointments rescheduled over more than a year due to strikes,” said Chris Streather, the medical director of NHS London.
“We’re continuing to see a massive cumulative impact on NHS services and our hard-working staff as they maintain safe patient services while tackling a record backlog.
“This time of year is always very busy for the NHS and six days is the longest time that doctors have gone on strike – but we’ve been planning extensively to ensure that people can still access care when they need it. It’s important that the public continue to use 999 and A&E in life-threatening emergencies.
“For everything else people should contact NHS 111 online, as well using local services like GPs and pharmacies for advice and care. If you haven’t been contacted or informed that your planned appointment has been postponed, please attend as normal.”
To mitigate some of the pressures that winter brings, NHS London began its winter vaccination programme early this year. Public health experts continue to urge all those eligible for covid or flu jabs, such as pregnant people, those over 65 and anyone who is immuno-suppressed, to make sure they get vaccinated to protect themselves from serious illness.
And people should still come forward to access the care they need in the usual way – in a life-threatening emergency, 999 and use A&E. For everything else, use 111 online.
Pharmacies and GPs are unaffected by the strikes so patients can still get appointments and health advice there.
Read more: 700 Londoners admitted to hospital as covid numbers soar
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Strike action causes disruption, that is the point of it. It is important to understand why Junior doctors in the NHS in England are taking strike action. They have asked the Government to:
• achieve full pay restoration to reverse the steep decline in pay faced by junior doctors since 2008/9
• agree on a mechanism with the Government to prevent any future declines against the cost of living and inflation
• reform the DDRB (Doctors’ and Dentists’ Review Body) process so pay increases can be recommended independently and fairly to safeguard the recruitment and retention of junior doctors.
All of these seem perfectly reasonable requests, so the question is why won’t the Government agree to them?
The Conservatives seem determined to destroy our NHS and replace it with private providers. Cutting pay for NHS staff is one way to make the service cheaper and allow bigger profits for their friends who plan to make millions from our poor health. Sadly Labour seem to be going along with them.
If we want to save our NHS then we should be supporting Junior Doctors in this strike along with nurses and all support staff who keep our NHS going.