Huge disruption for patients as senior doctors begin first major walkout in decades
Routine care is expected to be "virtually at a standstill" as the NHS enters the eighth month of industrial action with the impact on the service set to be "significant".
Thursday 20 July 2023 13:25, UK
NHS patients face major disruption over the next 48 hours as senior doctors in England begin their first major strike in nearly 50 years.
Consultant doctors along with hospital-based dentists will strike over pay from 7am on Thursday until 7am on Saturday.
They say they have lost 35% pay in real terms over 14 years and have rejected the government's proposal of 6% - calling it an "insult".
It follows the longest period of industrial action in the history of the NHS by junior doctors across five days from last Thursday to Tuesday.
Speaking from the picket line, Ahmed Aftab - a consultant ophthalmologist and British Medical Association representative - said that consultants are being paid much less in relation to other comparable jobs.
"I accept doctors' salaries are better than the average salary in society. But you have to realise that doctors are very specialist individuals who had done tens of years of specialist training," he told Sky News.
"It is a very stressful job and as compared to other segments of the society who do comparable jobs, doctors and consultants are paid much less."
The NHS medical director warned the latest action would be one of the toughest strikes in the history of the service, with "routine care virtually at a standstill".
Professor Sir Stephen Powis warned of the mass disruption expected across the NHS with consultants providing just emergency cover.
Apart from a brief dispute over pensions in 2012, senior consultants last took major long-term action in 1975 over their contracts.
Consultants are senior doctors who see patients but are also responsible for the supervision of junior doctors and other staff.
Kevin O'Kane, BMA's London regional council chairman, said that if England wishes to keep its doctors, it is going to have to "start paying them properly".
"We can't continue like this," he said.
"I can double my salary by hopping over to Ireland and working in the health system there, or to Australia and other countries which are actively targeting doctors for immigration.
"I've given my entire career to the NHS. I should expect reasonable pay."
Patients have been warned a "significant amount" of planned care involving junior doctors will be affected because other clinicians cannot provide cover or carry out supervisory roles.
The BMA said consultants will provide "Christmas Day cover" - meaning only an emergency care level of service.
NHS England said: "We are now entering the eighth month of industrial action across the NHS and staff continue to work hard to provide patients with the best possible care under the circumstances.
"Industrial action has impacted approximately 600,000 hospital appointments across the NHS with over 365,000 staff absences due to industrial action during this time."
What if you need urgent medical care?
The NHS states people should use NHS 111 online to be assessed and directed to the right care.
If you do not have internet access, then the 111 helpline is available.
When someone is seriously ill or injured and their life is at risk, you should seek emergency care in the normal way by calling 999.
The NHS website states: "Regardless of any strike action taking place, it is really important that patients who need urgent medical care continue to come forward as normal, especially in emergency and life-threatening cases.
"Patients should take advice from 111/999 call handlers on whether there are circumstances where it is suitable for them to make their own way to hospital.
"During strike days, it is likely 999 and 111 call handlers will be very busy, this may mean longer call response times."
GP services and pharmacies will be running as normal.
Great-grandmother's case highlights NHS dilemma
Carol Haworth is lying in a bed in Preston Hospital鈥檚 Emergency Department after breaking her left hip in a fall.
Dr Amogh Patel patiently explains that the 68-year-old great-grandmother will need immediate surgery to repair her shattered joint.
The surgery will fall on the first day of the nationwide NHS consultants strike
Carol鈥檚 case encapsulates the problems facing the NHS. She will have the emergency operation to repair her left hip, but has already waited nine months for surgery on her right hip.
And that wait will go on.
It is exactly the sort of life changing operation that will be cancelled in the thousands over the next 48 hours because of the consultants鈥� strike.
Carol remains philosophical: 鈥淲e鈥檝e had a lot of knock backs with COVID and this is only setting it back even further. So what can you do? It鈥檚 no good just squabbling about it, is it? You've just got to take it as it goes.鈥�
'My door is always open'
Health Secretary Steve Barclay urged consultants to call off the strike, saying it is now time to "put patients first".
"I hugely value the work of NHS consultants which is why we have accepted the independent pay review body recommendations in full, giving them a 6% pay rise this year, on top of last year's 4.5% increase," he said.
"My door is always open to discuss non-pay issues, but this pay award is final so I urge the BMA to end their strikes immediately."
NOTE: This story has been updated to make it clear that consultants say they have had a 35% loss in real terms pay over the past 14 years, not that they have asked for a 35% pay increase.