2023-06-14 14:30:27
“The NHS has prepared well for this new strike, but we know the number of postponed appointments will have a huge impact on routine care (…) as procedures can take time to rearrange” , warned Stephen Powis, head of the NHS.
The new mobilization started very early Wednesday, and should last 72 hours, that is until Saturday morning.
In the UK, ‘junior doctors’ make up around half of hospital doctors, ranging from young doctors just out of university to practitioners with more than eight years’ experience.
In April, these doctors had already disengaged for four days in England, leading to the postponement of nearly 200,000 non-urgent appointments.
The BMA union which represents them says that these doctors have lost 26% of their remuneration, in real terms, since 2008, when an austerity cure was imposed on the health services.
The union is demanding a 35% increase in wages, which the government opposes. In a statement, Health Minister Steve Barclay called the new strike “disappointing”, which “will jeopardize patient safety and our efforts to reduce waiting lists”.
“The 5% increase proposed by the government is frankly disrespectful,” criticized Arianna Zembryzcka, a 27-year-old anesthesiologist, present on the picket line outside University College Hospital in London. “It doesn’t even cover this year’s inflation, not to mention the erosion of our income for years. (…) I’m struggling to pay my rent in London,” she said. .
Another doctor, Sumi Manirajan, aged 29, explains that he is considering emigrating to Australia. “My salary would be right there. (…) We are being pressured to leave the NHS,” he said.
In Scotland, the “junior doctors” rejected a local government proposal on Tuesday and plan to go on strike in mid-July.
The NHS is going through a deep crisis, weakened by austerity policies and the consequences of the pandemic. While inflation weighs on purchasing power in the United Kingdom, walkouts have been observed by nurses as well as doctors and paramedics.
According to BMA figures, some 7.42million people were awaiting treatment in England in April, with just over three million patients who have been waiting for more than 18 months.
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