Junior doctors across England are set to embark on a five-day strike starting on Thursday, marking the longest walkout in the history of the National Health Service (NHS). The strike is a result of an ongoing dispute over pay between the British Medical Association (BMA) and the government.
Picket lines will be formed by BMA members from 7am while members of Unite at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust in London will also join the strike on Thursday over pay-related issues. The strike action follows a series of previous strikes that have resulted in numerous cancelled operations and consultations, causing significant disruption to patient care.
BMA leaders have called on the government to return to the negotiating table in order to reach a resolution to the prolonged dispute. They stated that if the government were to produce a “credible offer” during Thursday’s strike, the action could potentially be called off.
Dr Robert Laurenson and Dr Vivek Trivedi, leaders of the BMA, emphasized the need for resumed talks with the government, highlighting the progress made in Scotland. They pointed out that the health secretary’s claims that talks were impossible during planned strikes and that a pay increase above 5% was unrealistic were proven wrong in Scotland. They further criticised the government’s refusal to engage in dialogue with junior doctors in England, stating that it deviated from established norms of industrial action.
The BMA leaders expressed their frustration with the UK government’s inflexibility, asserting that it was detrimental to reducing waiting lists and increasing NHS staffing numbers. They stressed that the government had missed multiple opportunities to present a credible offer and bring an end to the ongoing industrial action. While acknowledging the differences between junior doctors and governments in England and Scotland, the BMA leaders emphasised that the UK government possessed greater financial freedom to meet the demands of doctors.
