Why are junior doctors striking – and why could it be the worst NHS strike yet?

Junior doctors are staging a four-day strike from early on Tuesday 11 April until the early hours of Saturday 15 April.

The strikes will bring “immense pressures” to staff and services, NHS England has warned, with people urged to avoid “risky behaviour” that could land them in hospital.

When is the strike?

Junior doctors will strike from 6.59am on Tuesday 11 April to 6.59am on Saturday 15 April – a total of 96 hours.

Up to 47,600 junior doctors who are members of the British Medical Association (BMA) union will walk out.

Why are junior doctors striking?

The strikes are primarily over pay. The BMA said the wage for junior doctors has fallen 26% in the last 15 years, with newly qualified medics making less than a barista in a coffee shop.

It has demanded a 35% pay rise for junior doctors to bring salaries back to 2008-2009 levels, calling this “pay restoration”.

“The lack of investment in wages by the government has made it harder to recruit and retain junior doctors,” the BMA said.

“If junior doctors are forced out of the NHS because of poor pay and conditions, the services we all rely on to look after our loved ones will suffer.”

On the picket lines of the March strike, junior doctors told Sky News why they were striking and described having to borrow money off family for medical exams, watching colleagues leave for better paid jobs abroad and how they were struggling to pay rent.

What impact is this going to have on the NHS?

A quarter of a million NHS appointments and operations could be delayed.

The NHS Confederation said patient care “rests on a knife edge” and hospitals could struggle to provide even “basic” levels of safety.

Health leaders said they were having to plan for the worst to protect patient safety, including by cancelling more appointments and elective procedures than they would like to.

It’s being called the worst NHS strike yet – why?

The timing has a lot to do with it – sandwiched between the long Easter weekend and another weekend. Health leaders are worried the effects of the four-day strike could be felt for 11 days.

Thousands of consultants provided cover during the last strike in March, but leaders did not expect a repeat performance as many consultants have annual leave booked over the holidays.

There is also typically higher demand over Easter. Last year there were 37% more NHS 111 calls between Good Friday to Easter Sunday compared with the weekend before.

The NHS Confederation said there was “huge uncertainty” over the level of cover NHS trusts will be able to secure to fill key shifts.

Read more:
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‘Huge concern’ over worst NHS strike yet

Is this the first time junior doctors have gone on strike?

No – junior doctors who are members of the BMA also walked out for 72 hours from 13-15 March.

During the last strike, about 175,000 appointments and operations were postponed.

What does ‘junior doctor’ mean?

A junior doctor is a qualified doctor who has graduated from medical school and is on a training pathway to become a specialist or a GP, according to the BMA.

Full-time training can take between five and 11 years – more if it is done part-time.

Junior doctors make up around 45% of the NHS’s medical workforce and two-thirds of them are members of the BMA.

What has the government said about the strikes?

Health Secretary Steve Barclay accused junior doctors of taking a “militant stance” and timing a four-day strike after the bank holiday to cause “maximum disruption” for patients.

He also said the timing of the walkout would cause “considerable risk to patient safety”.

He described the BMA’s call for a 35% pay rise as “unreasonable”, saying it would result in some junior doctors receiving a pay rise of over £20,000.

“If the BMA is willing to move significantly from this position and cancel strikes we can resume confidential talks and find a way forward, as we have done with other unions,” he added.