Junior doctors walk out for 24 hours as contract negotiations fail again

A junior doctor adjusts her face mask during a strike outside University College Hospital in London on Wednesday.

NHS England said 2,884 planned operations such as hip replacements will be cancelled because of the strike – made up of 1,150 inpatient procedures and 1,734 day cases.

An offer from the Government in November said doctors would receive time-and-a-half for any hours worked Monday to Sunday between 10pm and 7am, and time-and-a-third for any hours worked between 7pm and 10pm on Saturdays and 7am and 10pm on Sundays.

Indeed, junior doctors are furious at the stand taken by Health Secretary, Jeremy Hunt, with banners and placards articulating their anger on the Salford picket line today…

All the strikers at Pilgrim stressed they had not abandoned their roles as doctors to take part in the strike and, if needed, said they would be available for emergency action.

Thousands of junior doctors have walked off t…

The junior doctors are on strike for 24 hours over the intransigence of the Tory Government trying to impose new contracts which will force them to work more hours with less breaks and a reduction in pay over their working lifetime.

The government could simply impose the new contracts, and “we’re not going to remove that from the table”, the souce added.

Among other changes, this would see Saturdays classed as a normal working day, with higher payments to doctors scrapped.

A and E is still open, we’re taking patients as normal.

Junior doctors are physicians who are in training.

Meanwhile The Royal Surrey County Hospital says it has produced a robust contingency plan for today’s strike and that its priority is always to provide a safe level of care for patients.

“But when it comes to trust, I believe we earn the public’s trust every day through what we do at the hospital”.

“So the turnout for the strike has been slightly lower than before”, he said. More people than expected were at the rally.

On 4 January Daniel Mortimer, chief executive of NHS Employers, wrote that a system of financial penalties for trusts who abuse doctors’ working hours had been proposed.

“Hopefully the Government will see we continue to be united and enjoy the support of the public and will return to more reasonable negotiations rather than rejecting our proposals”.

Thousands of operations and appointments have been cancelled, while accident and emergency provisions have remained undisturbed. “If the BMA won’t accept a fair and reasonable offer then, yes, it is legitimate and sensible for the Secretary of State to consider imposition”.