NHS ‘doesn’t just belong to junior doctors’, says health secretary as strikes continue
The NHS “doesn’t just belong” to striking junior doctors and can’t be “switched on and off on whim”, the health secretary said.
Victoria Atkins turned up the heat in the government’s row with the British Medical Association (BMA) as their record-breaking walk-out continues.
Junior doctors in England are in the middle of a six-day strike over pay and conditions, the longest industrial action in NHS history.
A number of hospitals in England have pleaded for medics to leave picket lines and get back to work due to safety concerns, also known as derogation requests.
But this has sparked a row as the BMA has suggested the requests are “politically motivated”.
Ms Atkins promised to start talks with the BMA “in 20 minutes” if the strikes were called off.
Speaking on a visit to London Ambulance Service, she told the PA news agency: “I’ve said throughout this that, please, to the junior doctors’ committee, the moment you call off the strikes, I’ll get back around the table with you within 20 minutes.”
She said the strikes have to be called off for negotiations to happen, “because the NHS belongs to us all”.
“It doesn’t just belong to the junior doctors’ committee, and for the 1.3 million people who work in the NHS, as well of course for the tens of millions of people it looks after, the NHS cannot be switched on and off on whim.”
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The longest strike in NHS history
However, the BMA hit back calling it a “political choice” for Downing Street to “stick rigidly to its dogma of not negotiating while strikes are planned”.
Professor Philip Banfield, BMA council chairman, said: “In the past, the government waived this principle for the barrister strikes, so there is no reason for them to waste time and money by refusing to talk now.
“We are clear: we are ready to talk 24/7. Get back around the table, give us a credible offer and we can end these strikes right now.”
The government gave junior doctors an 8.8% pay rise last summer, with an extra 3% offered during the last round of negotiations towards the end of the year.
Victoria Atkins MP
But the BMA rejected the 3% offer, saying it does not make up for a real-term pay cut of nearly a quarter for junior doctors since 2008.
They want full pay “restoration” to reverse real-term cuts in pay since 2008-9, a new pay mechanism to prevent any future pay decreases against inflation and the cost of living, and a reformed pay review body to “safeguard recruitment and retention of junior doctors”.
The strikes are a headache for Rishi Sunak as the UK enters an election year.
The prime minister has staked his premiership on five key pledges which include cutting NHS waiting lists.
Although the backlog was at a record high before the industrial action broke out, over one million appointments have been cancelled or rescheduled due to strike action by junior doctors and other workers in the NHS in the past year.
Read More:
Junior doctors start their longest strike in NHS history – here’s what they want
While the government has managed to resolve other disputes, with a new pay offer recently made to senior doctors, the row with junior medics is showing no signs of abating.
More than 20 derogation requests have been submitted to the BMA for this round of strikes, but so far none have been approved.
The union said that NHS England and some trusts are refusing to provide evidence that they have undertaken steps to show they have “exhausted” all other sources of staffing before recalling medics from the picket line.
In a letter to NHS bosses, the BMA accused health leaders of misusing the system and bowing to political pressure to undermine the strike.
NHS England said they will “continue to engage with the BMA in good faith” and they will address the process for considering patient safety mitigations.
Ms Atkins, echoing Mr Sunak’s comments earlier on Thursday, said she backed NHS leaders in making the mitigation requests but this is being done “completely independent of government”.
She said the strikes are having “very serious consequences”, with 88,000 appointments cancelled during the last set in December.
Health officials have warned that this strike will be worse because it coincides with one of the busiest weeks of the calendar year, due to a rising tide of winter bugs and people storing up problems over the Christmas break.
On the first day of the strike on Tuesday, critical incidents were declared at Queen Alexandra Hospital in Portsmouth and by the NHS in Nottingham.
Meanwhile more than a dozen hospitals said that emergency services were busy, with some reporting “extreme heightened pressure”.
Oleksandr Usyk has become the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world after defeating Tyson Fury in boxing’s biggest fight of the century.
The Ukrainian won on a split decision following the match in Saudi Arabia.
Usyk had 115-112 and 114-113 on two cards, while Fury took the other 114-113.
Oleksandr Usyk lands a punch on Tyson Fury. Pic: PA
Fury disputed his loss after the match, saying: “I believe I won that fight. I believe he won a few rounds but I won more of them.
“Make no mistake I won that fight and I’ll be back.”
In response Usyk said he was “ready for a rematch”.
Pic: Action Images via Reuters
Fury came under early pressure, with Usyk taking the centre of the ring with an aggressive offensive from the start.
At one point Fury was pushed against the ropes and started laughing as Usyk applied pressure.
The “Gypsy King” looked relaxed as he moved around the ring in the early rounds and picked his shots.
Pic: PA
Fury lunges at Usyk. Pic: PA
But after Usyk landed a right hook in the ninth round it looked as if Fury was in serious trouble. The Ukrainian followed up by unloading freely but somehow the bookmakers’ favourite stayed on his feet and was saved by the bell.
Last night, Fury weighed in at 262lbs (18st 10lbs) – nearly three stone heavier than Usyk, who clocked in at a career heaviest of 223lbs (15st 13lbs).
Fury refused to look at his opponent during a news conference on Thursday, but did not back down at the weigh-in last night, where the pair almost came to blows before being separated by their entourages.
Usyk arrived into the ring first, dressed as a Cossack warrior.
Fury entered to songs by Barry White and Bonnie Tyler, with the “Gypsy King” spending several minutes dancing on stage before the song changed to Holding Out For A Hero.
Anthony Joshua watched from the ringside, knowing he could meet the winner early next year.
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UK
Brixham: Warning ‘heads are going to roll’ after water parasite outbreak – as ‘nearly every house in one close has someone ill’
Thousands of homes have had their boiling water restrictions lifted after a water tank infected with cryptosporidium was drained and cleaned, South West Water has said.
About 16,000 households in the Brixham area of Devon were told to boil their drinking water following 46 confirmed cases of the disease.
On Saturday afternoon South West Water lifted the boiling restrictions for 14,500 homes after water quality monitoring results found no traces of cryptosporidium in the Alston supply area.
Cryptosporidiosis is caused by a tiny parasite and can lead to vomiting, stomach cramps and watery diarrhoea lasting about two weeks.
More cases are expected to be confirmed due to a delay in developing symptoms – and about 100 more people around Brixham were reporting signs of it on Friday.
South West Water believes the parasite probably entered supplies through a damaged pipe in a field containing animal faeces.
A contaminated water tank at Hillhead reservoir, where cryptosporidium was detected, was drained overnight and “thoroughly cleaned” on Saturday, South West Water said.
One local resident said she knew of only four houses out of 21 in Raddicombe Close, on the outskirts of Brixham, which have not had at least one person fall ill with cryptosporidiosis.
The local MP has warned “heads are going to roll” over the incident.
Tory MP Anthony Mangnall, whose constituency includes Brixham, told LBC: “This is such a serious matter that yes, I think heads are going to roll over this.”
He claimed the supplier had been too slow to issue its safety alert.
16,000 businesses and residents are affected by the boil water notice. Pic: South West Water
Mr Mangnall said: “From starting this week with a denial from South West Water that it was anything to do with them, delaying the fact that the boil water notice came in – meaning thousands of people used the water network – to then issuing it on Wednesday, and there are a lot of people who are very ill.”
He called it an “absolutely disastrous week” and said locals were furious.
South West Water has said it’s “deeply sorry” and that it’s been “working tirelessly” to identify the source of the problem and fix it.
Bottled water stations have been set up in the area.
Read more:
What we know about parasite found in drinking water
Parasite outbreak has ‘destroyed’ business
Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey accused the government of not doing enough to hold water companies to account.
He told Sky News the firms were “putting profit over the environment, over public health” after multiple cases of sewage being released into rivers and seas.
“We [Liberal Democrats] wouldn’t wait for fines for pollution,” Sir Ed said.
“There should be a sewage tax on the profits of these water companies so we can get the money now.
“There needs to be much tougher regulation… and we may need to look at restructuring the whole water industry.”
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Kelly Holmes joins anti-sewage protest
It comes as dozens of protests over sewage releases were planned for Saturday.
Surfers Against Sewage is promoting “paddle-out” demonstrations at 30 locations, with Olympian Dame Kelly Holmes among those at the event in Brighton.
The confirmed cases of a waterborne disease caused by a parasite have more than doubled.
There are now 46 confirmed cases of cryptosporidiosis, a diarrhoeal illness, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has said – with more than 100 further people reporting similar symptoms in the Brixham area.
Other reported cases of diarrhoea and vomiting in residents and visitors to the south Devon town are also under investigation. Hundreds of locals have also reported feeling unwell over the last two weeks on social media.
MPs and South West Water officials have confirmed the parasite most likely entered water supplies through animal faeces, but an investigation is still ongoing.
What is cryptosporidiosis disease?
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‘Cow faeces’ infected Devon water
The UKHSA first confirmed cases of the disease at around midday on Wednesday, while locals were initially told by South West Water that their tap water was uncontaminated and safe to drink.
But after testing supplies in the Hillhead reservoir, the water company found “small traces” of the parasite cryptosporidium – which causes cryptosporidiosis – and told residents in parts of Brixham and Alston to boil their drinking water on Wednesday.
A total of 16,000 households and businesses in Brixham, Boohay, Kingswear, Roseland and North West Paignton were impacted and offered £15 compensation at first.
Over the next two days, South West Water apologised to those affected and increased the offer to £115. Amid the chaos, one primary school closed its doors on Thursday due to not having safe running drinking water.
16,000 businesses and residents are affected by the boil water notice. Pic: South West Water
‘Very hard questions for water company’
Speaking to Sky News yesterday, South West Water’s chief customer officer Laura Flowerdew confirmed it was likely a broken air valve contaminated by animal faeces that had caused the outbreak.
However, she refused to give a timeframe on how long the incident would be ongoing – leaving thousands of residents facing an uncertain future.
Speaking on Friday at the University of Exeter, Health Secretary Victoria Atkins said there will be “very, very hard questions” for South West Water over the outbreak.
“At the moment I think we probably need to give them the space to conduct their investigation; we know that they have identified the source,” she said.
“The public will want to know how on earth that source happened, what was the chain of events that led to this, because of course we all understand the expectation that we all have when we turn our taps on is that [we get] clean drinking water and we want to be able to trust it.”
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Most cases of cryptosporidiosis pass in two weeks. Symptoms include diarrhoea and vomiting. File pic: Dr_Microbe/iStock
‘Expect to see more cases’
Totnes MP Anthony Mangnall also warned the boil notice could last “at least a further six or seven days” and called for more transparency.
Professor Paul Hunter, a specialist in medical microbiology at the University of East Anglia, told Sky News if the parasite was “a continuous thing” present in water supplies for a prolonged period, then “you’d expect to see more cases” for another two weeks.
It comes as hotel owners in the area told Sky News the outbreak has led to people cancelling their stay, while a head chef said “I can’t wash salad in the sink”.
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‘Destroyed our business’
Stephen Colemansfield, owner of Redlands Guest House in Brixham, told Sky News the outbreak has “destroyed our business at the moment”.
“Our guests have cancelled because of the mixed messages that are being sent out by South West Water.”
Rob, head chef at the Steam Packet Inn in Kingswear near Dartmouth, also said his brother-in-law is one of the 46 confirmed cases of cryptosporidiosis and has been sick for two weeks.
The UKHSA is working with Torbay Council, South West Water, NHS Devon and the Environment Agency on the incident.
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