NHS strikes: ‘All options on table’ for ‘unprecedented’ coordinated junior doctors and nurses strikes
“All options are on the table” regarding possible coordinated strikes by junior doctors and nurses, a union representative has warned.
Dr Arjan Singh, chair of the British Medical Association’s (BMA) junior doctors committee, refused to rule out the possibility of coordinating industrial action with Royal College of Nursing (RCN), saying: “We have a very close relationship with the RCN and every option is to be considered.”
He told Sky News the BMA is “in full solidarity with nursing colleagues”, after the RCN voted for a fresh 48-hour walkout from 8pm on 30 April to 8pm on 2 May.
Dr Singh called the government’s pay offer to the nurses “derisory” and “not reflective of years of pay erosion that they have endured or the sacrifices they’ve made”.
Dr Arjan Singh from the junior doctors committee for the British Medical Association
Sir Julian Hartley, chief executive of NHS Providers, said a coordinated strike would be “completely unprecedented”.
“We would be in uncharted territory,” he told Sky News. “It would be even more challenging to plan for, manage and mitigate all the enormous challenges it would present the service with.
“Doctors and nurses are fundamental to the delivery of care across the service. It really is deeply concerning if that’s the scenario we’re facing.”
‘Desperate need’ to end strikes
Sir Julian said the NHS was in “desperate need” of an end to strike action.
“We need both the government and unions to come together quickly to try and find a way through this,” he added.
The RCN strike comes after a 54% vote to reject an offer of a 5% pay rise this year and a cash payment for last year.
Staff in emergency departments, intensive care units and cancer care are expected to take action for the first time.
But members of a second union, Unison, voted to accept the same offer by 74% on a turnout of 53%.
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RCN votes for fresh strike
Junior doctors await ‘credible offer’
Around 47,000 junior doctors finished their four-day strike in a separate dispute over pay at 7am on Saturday.
The BMA has urged the government to hold talks over junior doctors’ demands for “pay restoration” to 2008 levels, but ministers have claimed that would amount to a 35% pay rise.
Dr Singh accused Health Secretary Steve Barclay of “hiding” behind pre-recorded media interviews.
“We said, ‘give us a credible offer, and we would call off the strikes’,” he said.
“But radio silence is what we’re hearing from our health secretary at the moment, and it’s very concerning.”
A “mass haemorrhaging and exodus of doctors” would continue if a “credible offer” was not made, he added.
UK
Epping council demands government ‘immediately’ close asylum hotel – as Home Office works to ‘restore order’
Epping council has unanimously voted to urge the government to shut a hotel housing asylum seekers after a series of protests.
Epping Forest District Council in Essex passed a motion calling for the Bell Hotel to be “immediately and permanently” closed “for the purposes of asylum processing”.
Several demonstrations have been held outside the hotel since 13 July, after an asylum seeker was charged with allegedly attempting to kiss a 14-year-old girl.
Police have arrested 18 people and charged nine in connection with the protests.
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Eight officers injured during migrant protest
Hadush Gerberslasie Kebatu, 38, from Ethiopia, denied sexually assaulting the 14-year-old girl at Chelmsford Magistrates’ Court last week and will stand trial in August.
The Essex Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner has also reportedly urged the home secretary to review the use of the hotel for housing asylum seekers.
In a letter to Yvette Cooper, Roger Hirst said the hotel is unsuitable for housing migrants and is “clearly creating community tension”, the Telegraph reported.
Protests in Epping turned violent last week
Home Office ‘working to restore order’
The Home Office has vowed to “restore order,” threatening on Friday to make asylum seekers homeless if they refuse a change of accommodation.
Read more:
Epping: ‘Everyone’s on edge’
Epping the latest flashpoint of frustration
It said a new “failure to travel” policy is looking to tackle “non-compliance by asylum seekers” and will ensure individuals who are moved from hotels to suitable alternative accommodation must take it.
Those who refuse to move without a valid reason will now risk losing their housing and support, the Home Office said.
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Epping migration protest in focus
Dame Angela Eagle, minister for border security and asylum, said: “We are working to close hotels, restore order, and put fairness and value for money at the heart of our asylum system.
“This government is making those necessary decisions to protect the taxpayer and uphold the integrity of our borders.”
Asked specifically about the Epping Forest District Council vote, the Home Office said: “We’ll continue to work closely with local police and community partners, in Epping and across the country, as we fix this broken system.”
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Eight officers injured
Protests outside the Bell Hotel last Thursday began peacefully but escalated into what police described as “scattered incidents of violence,” leaving eight officers injured.
Police are braced for further protests, vowing to act swiftly if unrest spreads.
UK
There were ‘failings’ in care of ex-England cricketer Graham Thorpe in months before he died, coroner says
The actor who played PC Reg Hollis in hit TV series The Bill has been praised by officers after helping them arrest a shoplifter.
Jeff Stewart stepped in when a thief attempted to escape on a bicycle in Southampton on Wednesday.
In a statement, a Hampshire Constabulary spokesman said: “The thief, 29-year-old Mohamed Diallo, fell off the bike during his attempts to flee, before officers pounced to make their arrest.
“To their surprise, local TV legend Jeff Stewart, who played PC Hollis for 24 years in The Bill, came to their aid by sitting on the suspect’s legs while officers put him in cuffs.
(L-R) Jeff Stewart, Roberta Taylor, Mark Wingett, Trudie Goodwin and Cyril Nri celebrating The Bill’s 21st anniversary in 2004. Pic: PA
“In policing you should always expect the unexpected, but this really wasn’t on The Bill for this week.”
The Bill was broadcast on ITV between 1984 and 2010 and featured the fictional lives of police officers from the Sun Hill police station in east London.
Mr Stewart, who was among the original cast, appeared in more than 1,000 episodes as PC Hollis.
Police released footage showing their pursuit of a shoplifter in Southampton. Pic: Hampshire Constabulary
As the suspect falls to the floor, PC Hollis (aka Jeff Stewart) sits on his legs. Pic: Hampshire Constabulary
In praising Mr Stewart’s actions, the force said: “Long since retired from Sun Hill station – but he’s still got it.”
Police from the Bargate Neighbourhoods Policing Team were alerted by staff at a Co-op store in Ocean Way to a suspected shoplifter on Wednesday.
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Mohamed Diallo, 29, of Anglesea Road, Southampton, was subsequently charged with five offences of theft relating to coffee, alcohol and food from the Co-op and two other Sainsbury’s stores on three dates in April and July.
He pleaded guilty at Southampton Magistrates’ Court on Thursday and was bailed to be sentenced on August 29.
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