𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

Resident doctors have been accused of holding patients “hostage” as they begin a six-day walk-out over pay and jobs. The latest strike by medics, lasting from 7am on Tuesday until 6.59am on Monday, is expected to lead to thousands of NHS appointments being cancelled and rescheduled. Shadow Health Secretary Stuart Andrew MP urged the Prime Minister to get a grip on the situation. He said: “It is clear that stronger action is needed.

“If Keir Starmer had the backbone to stand up to the militant BMA, patients would not be held hostage. Only the Conservatives have common sense plans to ban doctors’ strikes to protect both patients and the public finances.” During the last five-day strike by resident doctors shortly before Christmas, more than 25,000 walked out on each of three weekdays and 8,000 at the weekend.

That action, between December 17 and 21, led to almost 34,000 appointments being rescheduled.

Mr Andrew added: “As soon as they took office, Labour caved to union pressure and gave junior doctors an inflation-busting 28% pay rise and promised to end the strikes, yet strikes continue.

“We warned that doing so without any conditions would mean it wouldn’t work, and here we are again!”

A Reform spokesman said: “Whether it’s with the BMA over pay or Mauritius over the Chagos Islands, it’s staggering just how bad the government is at making deals that lead to better outcomes for hard-working taxpayers. The British public deserves better than the failures of successive Labour and Conservative governments.

“As we make clear in our recent manifestos for the Welsh and Scottish elections, Reform will keep the NHS free at the point of use whilst making the changes necessary to fix the current broken system.

“Hospitals are struggling with red tape, GPs are overstretched, and the most vulnerable, including children and the elderly, are left waiting for care they desperately need. This must change. Only Reform can be trusted to protect the future of the NHS.”

Resident doctors make up almost half of all doctors working in the NHS. This strike is the 15th walk-out by resident doctors in England in a bitter three-year dispute over pay.

The British Medical Association (BMA) has said talks with the Government broke down after key elements of the deal were “watered down”.

Health Secretary Wes Streeting said the offer he gave the union would have left members 35.2% better off on average than they were three years ago.

It included a proposal to cover some expenses, such as exam fees, as well as ensuring faster pay progression through salary bands during training.

Mr Streeting had also offered to ensure 1,000 extra training places for resident doctors. However, that offer has now been withdrawn because the Department of Health and Social Care says it is no longer “financially or operationally” possible due to the fallout of this strike.

Each round of industrial action has been estimated to cost the NHS around £300milllion.

Writing for the Express, Mr Streeting says the BMA’s decision will leave resident doctors worse off and patients “feeling anxious”.

He added: “I will not allow this needless strike action to undermine our country’s greatest institution.

“Yes, strikes will mean some cancelled appointments — but when doctors last walked out, the NHS held firm and delivered 95% of its planned care, thanks to the dedication of the vast majority of NHS staff who kept showing up.”

Dr Jack Fletcher, chairman of the BMA’s resident doctors committee, said medics were “serious about bringing this dispute to an end”.

He added: “My colleagues and I have spent months in the negotiating room, and a deal was taking shape, yet at the last minute, the Government quietly watered it down, reducing the money on the table, then stretching what was left over too many years to make it worthwhile.

“These strikes were entirely avoidable. We offered the Government several opportunities to undo their last-minute goalpost shift, and they refused.”

Dr Fletcher also criticised the Government’s decision to scrap the offer of 1,000 training posts.

He added: “It’s this Government that is holding patients hostage and using our next generation of consultants and surgeons as bargaining chips.

“If we keep treating doctors as an inconvenience rather than an asset, we will end up with an NHS that simply doesn’t have enough residents or consultant doctors to give patients the surgery and procedures they need.

“We’re willing to end these strikes, Mr Streeting needs to be too.”

NHS chief executive Sir Jim Mackey last week suggested strikes could become a monthly occurrence if a deal cannot be reached.

He told the Health Service Journal that the NHS was looking at ways to become less reliant on resident doctors.

The NHS will be prioritising urgent and emergency care, cancer and maternity services during the walk-out.

Patients have been urged to attend any planned appointments unless contacted to reschedule.

The public has also been told to seek help as normal, including using NHS 111 online or phone services for non-urgent issues and calling 999 or going to A&E in an emergency.

Professor Ramani Moonesinghe, national clinical director for critical and perioperative care at NHS England, said: “Staff across the NHS will be doing everything they can this week to keep patients safe and ensure people can continue to get the care they need.

“We know this round of industrial action will be difficult, coming straight after the Easter weekend, but patients should come forward as normal and attend any appointments unless they are contacted otherwise.

“The NHS remains open for you this week — as ever, please call 999 or come to A&E in an emergency, and use 111 online first if you need urgent but not life-threatening help.”