Junior doctors’ strike: Warning over ‘long-lasting effect’ on NHS backlog as fifth walkout starts

Published

2 years ago

August 11, 2023

admin

Doctors who have been working for the NHS for less than two weeks are among those downing tools this morning and going on strike.

Junior doctors from the British Medical Association (BMA) are staging a four-day walkout from 7am in an ongoing dispute over pay.

Concerns have been mounting over the impact of the strike following a High Court ruling that means the NHS cannot use agency staff to backfill striking workers.

Almost 835,000 appointments have been postponed since industrial action began in December.

But NHS Confederation said the true level of disruption is being “masked” and the number of cancellations could be double this figure.

It said many hospitals have stopped booking in routine activity on potential strike days to prevent causing more disruption to patients on waiting lists, and the action was hampering efforts to reduce the record backlog of care.

Sir Julian Hartley, chief executive of NHS Providers, warned the figure could close in on one million postponed appointments following strikes by junior doctors and consultants in August, as well as a potential further two-day strike by consultants in September.

“There will be a long-lasting effect on patients who have had treatment delayed and on already low staff morale,” he added.

Making room for rescheduled appointments could also mean those further down the waiting list also face delays.

It comes as NHS England revealed 7.6 million people were waiting for treatment at the end of June, the highest number since records began in August 2007.

Health Secretary Steve Barclay said: “Patients are bearing the brunt of the impact of continuous strikes across the NHS, and further action by the BMA will cause more appointments and procedures to be postponed.

“Our award balances the need to keep inflation in check while recognising the incredibly important work they do.

“My door is always open to discuss how to improve doctors’ working lives, but this pay award is final so I urge the BMA to end its strikes immediately.”

The BMA are demanding a 35% increase, arguing junior doctors have lost more than a quarter of their pay over 15 years as a result of salaries not keeping up with inflation.

But the government said a 6% uplift given to junior doctors, which it says is the equivalent to an average increase of 8.8% – in addition to a consolidated £1,250 rise – is “fair and reasonable”.

It’s the fifth time junior doctors have walked out of the wards this year, and the ninth successive month of union action across the NHS.

The action will include some medics who only started their jobs with the NHS last Wednesday.

Dr Omolara Akinnawonu is one of those Foundation Year 1 doctors who started her role on 2 August. She said many medics struggle to make ends meet when they first start in the health service.

“I don’t think many of us as students imagined that we will be having to take to picket lines but I think that it’s necessary because it’s safeguarding our right now and also our future,” the 24-year-old said.

“We sort of graduated at the backfoot and to arrive finally as a doctor to not receive a fair salary is not fair.”

The strike is due to end at 7am on Tuesday.

Politics

Why Boris’s best mate is off to Reform

Published

4 hours ago

July 10, 2025

admin

👉Listen to Politics at Sam and Anne’s on your podcast app👈       

Former Conservative chairman and friend of Boris Johnson – Sir Jake Berry – is defecting to Reform UK, causing more problems for Tory leader Kemi Badenoch.

On today’s episode, Sky News’ Sam Coates and Politico’s Anne McElvoy discuss if his defection will divide parts of Reform policy.

Elsewhere, the Anglo-French summit gets under way, with Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer hoping to announce a migration deal with French President Emmanuel Macron to deter small boat crossings.

Plus, chatter around Whitehall that No10 are considering a pre-summer reshuffle, but will it have any value?

Politics

Australia to test CBDCs, stablecoins in next stage of crypto play

Published

7 hours ago

July 10, 2025

admin

Australia to test CBDCs, stablecoins in next stage of crypto play

The trial is part of Project Acacia, an initiative from the RBA exploring how digital money and tokenization could support financial markets in Australia.

Politics

Starmer and Macron agree need for ‘new deterrent’ to stop small boat crossings

Published

13 hours ago

July 10, 2025

admin

Starmer and Macron agree need for 'new deterrent' to stop small boat crossings

Sir Keir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron have agreed the need for a “new deterrent” to deter small boats crossings in the Channel, Downing Street has said.

The prime minister met Mr Macron this afternoon as part of the French president’s state visit to the UK, which began on Tuesday.

High up the agenda for the two leaders is the need to tackle small boat crossings in the Channel, which Mr Macron said yesterday was a “burden” for both the UK and France.

Politics latest: Plans for Donald Trump UK visit in ‘coming weeks’

The small boats crisis is a pressing issue for the prime minister, given that more than 20,000 migrants crossed the English Channel to the UK in the first six months of this year – a rise of almost 50% on the number crossing in 2024.

Sir Keir is hoping he can reach a deal for a one-in one-out return treaty with France, ahead of the UK-France summit on Thursday, which will involve ministerial teams from both nations.

The deal would see those crossing the Channel illegally sent back to France in exchange for Britain taking in any asylum seeker with a family connection in the UK.

However, it is understood the deal is still in the balance, with some EU countries unhappy about France and the UK agreeing on a bilateral deal.

French newspaper Le Monde reports that up to 50 small boat migrants could be sent back to France each week, starting from August, as part of an agreement between Sir Keir and Mr Macron.

A statement from Downing Street said: “The prime minister met the French President Emmanuel Macron in Downing Street this afternoon.

“They reflected on the state visit of the president so far, agreeing that it had been an important representation of the deep ties between our two countries.

“Moving on to discuss joint working, they shared their desire to deepen our partnership further – from joint leadership in support of Ukraine to strengthening our defence collaboration and increasing bilateral trade and investment.”

It added: “The leaders agreed tackling the threat of irregular migration and small boat crossings is a shared priority that requires shared solutions.

“The prime minister spoke of his government’s toughening of the system in the past year to ensure rules are respected and enforced, including a massive surge in illegal working arrests to end the false promise of jobs that are used to sell spaces on boats.

“The two leaders agreed on the need to go further and make progress on new and innovative solutions, including a new deterrent to break the business model of these gangs.”

Chris Philp, the shadow home secretary, seized on the statement to criticise Labour for scrapping the Conservatives’ Rwanda plan, which the Tories claim would have sent asylum seekers “entering the UK illegally” to Rwanda.

He said in an online post: “We had a deterrent ready to go, where every single illegal immigrant arriving over the Channel would be sent to Rwanda.

“But Starmer cancelled this before it had a chance to start.

“Now, a year later, he’s realised he made a massive mistake. That’s why numbers have surged and this year so far has been the worst in history for illegal channel crossings.

“Starmer is weak and incompetent and he’s lost control of our borders.”