UK’s junior doctors have just begun a three-day pay strike
Junior doctors are on strike for three days from 7am today to 7am Saturday, December 23. An unprecedented six-day strike will also begin on Wednesday, January 3. The strike date was announced after talks between the British Medical Association (BMA) and the government broke down earlier this month.
The latest round of strike action comes as the health service grapples with one of the toughest winters on record. The NHS has warned that there will only be two working days over the next three weeks that are not affected by holidays or strikes.
In order to achieve a 35% wage increase, the BMA rejected a last-minute request from five national organizations – Age England, NHS Confederation, Patients’ Association, National Voice and Healthwatch – to downgrade industrial action to a partial strike. strike, with some emergency cover provided by junior doctors.
The Guardian reports that the junior doctors’ strike has “destroyed” their relationships with consultants, who are “exhausted” from having to provide cover for striking junior doctors and carry out regular shifts.
Health Minister Victoria Atkins said overnight the strike could cause “serious disruption” and urged BMA representatives to “come back to the negotiating table because we are making good progress”. Dr Robert Laurenson and Dr Vivek Trivedi, co-chairs of the BMA’s junior doctors committee, said in a joint statement that they had spent two weeks waiting for a “final offer” from Atkins but “we have yet to hear it.” They appealed Ms Atkins arranged the talks “whether or not a strike is scheduled”.
NHS strike action last year, which saw more than 1.1 million appointments and treatments canceled, has not improved Sunak’s prospects of delivering on his pledge to reduce NHS waiting lists.
Strike will leave patients ‘stranded’ in hospitals over Christmas
Leading health and patient organizations have warned that strikes could leave patients “stranded” in hospitals over Christmas even though they are ready to go home.
Experts have warned that the timing of the strike means it will be “extremely difficult to ensure safe and effective care” during the strike, which starts at 7am on Wednesday.
Age UK, NHS Confederation, Healthwatch England, National Voices and ThePatent Association have written to the BMA and the government to express concerns about the strike.
They wrote: “There were 13,000 patients, many of them elderly, waiting to be discharged from hospital in the first week of December. Strike action in the run-up to Christmas is likely to increase the numbers, leaving patients stranded in hospital over the holidays despite their health Condition is suitable for discharge.”
They added: “We are concerned that, despite the best efforts of NHS staff, it will be extremely difficult to ensure safe and effective care for all patients who need it during this period.”
Labor says use private schools tax relief cash to reduce mental health waiting lists and school absences
Bridget Phillipson, Labour’s shadow education secretary, has challenged the Conservatives to reduce the number of children stuck on mental health waiting lists by hiring mental health professionals in every school. Phillipson said the proposals would be funded by ending tax breaks for private schools.
Labour’s intervention comes as the party publishes new analysis showing the extent of the mental health crisis and its impact on young people’s education.
The analysis found that more than 270,000 young people referred for mental health care last year either waited more than three months to start treatment or ended the referral without receiving NHS care.
Philipson will detail Labour’s plans to tackle persistent absenteeism in a major speech on schools in the new year.
MPs shift majority in support of euthanasia
Kit Malthouse, co-chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on end-of-life options, said MPs were close to securing majority support for legal changes to support euthanasia when they next vote on the issue . Malthouse said the mood had changed significantly since the last time the House of Commons voted on the issue in 2015.
Government releases strategy to reform adult social care data methods
The government has published Care Data Matters: a roadmap for better adult social care data, setting out strategic directions to improve the quality and availability of adult social care data. The draft roadmap was first published in February 2023 to allow for government consultation with industry. An updated version of the strategy replaces the February 2023 draft. The document contains significant revisions, including updating the government’s understanding of key data needs and constraints across the industry, using findings identified from the draft roadmap consultation.
