Junior doctors strike for first time in 40 Years

Junior doctors began their first strike in 40 years at 8am on 12 January.

The industrial action is in protest to new contract conditions that Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt threatened to impose on junior doctors and will last from 8am Tuesday 12 January - 8 am Wednesday 13 January, with only emergency cover being provided. Two more strikes are scheduled to take place 8am Tuesday 26 - 8am Thursday 28 January and from 8am - 5pm Wednesday 10 February (full walk-out).

The strikes were first scheduled to take place in December 2015 but were delayed as Hunt and the British Medical Association (BMA) re-entered talks using ACAS conciliation services. However, these talks again broke down in early January and have resulted in the strikes still going ahead.

There are more than 55,000 junior doctors in England, and just over 37,000 are members of the BMA, who organised the industrial action. The NHS has so far postponed 4,000 routine treatments, with appointments and tests also affected.

The dispute between Hunt and junior doctors stems from a new contract in which Hunt plans to extend the normal working week to include longer weekdays and Saturdays, in a bid to ensure a ‘truly seven day NHS’. However, junior doctors claim the contract does not include the proper safeguards to ensure they do not become overworked, which could have a negative impact on patient safety. Doctors also argue that the new contract conditions would lead to a loss of overtime pay, and have not been persuaded otherwise by Hunt’s promise of an 11 per cent pay rise.

The strikes will not just affect acute hospital trusts as mental health services are also facing disruption, with Barnet, Enfield and Haringey mental health NHS Trust expecting three quarters of its junior doctors to be on strike.

Christopher Hix, from the Patients Association, has said that patients are caught in the middle of a dispute which has been badly handled by both sides and argues its very hard to believe the strikes will not have an adverse effect on patient safety.

Dr Mark Porter, BMA council chair, said: "We sincerely regret the disruption that industrial action will cause, but junior doctors have been left with no option. It is because the government's proposals would be bad for patient care as well as junior doctors in the long-term that we are taking this stand."

Anne Rainsberry, from NHS England, said: "We have tried and tested plans to deal with a range of disruptions including industrial action. As ever, the safety and care of patients is our top priority, and the NHS has robust plans in place to ensure those who need emergency treatment will continue to receive it."