NHS patients face major disruption over the next 48 hours as senior doctors in England begin their first major strike in nearly 50 years.
Consultant doctors along with hospital-based dentists will strike over pay from 7am on Thursday until 7am on Saturday.
It follows the longest period of industrial action in the history of the NHS by junior doctors across five days from last Thursday to Tuesday.
The NHS medical director warned the latest action would be one of the toughest strikes in the history of the service, with “routine care virtually at a standstill”.
Professor Sir Stephen Powis warned of the mass disruption expected across the NHS with consultants providing just emergency cover.
Apart from a brief dispute over pensions in 2012, senior consultants last took major long-term action in 1975 over their contracts.
Consultants are senior doctors who see patients but are also responsible for the supervision of junior doctors and other staff.
The British Medical Association rejected a 6% pay rise for consultants – calling it “insulting” and a “savage real-terms pay cut”.
It called for a 35% pay increase as it claims that it is the figure take-home pay has declined by over the last 15 years.
However, the BMA is using an outdated measure of inflation. While using the consumer price index, as the ONS recommends, the real-terms decrease in pay since 2010 is 15%
The BMA says current basic pay scales see consultants earning £88,364 as a starting salary, with tiered increases up to £119,133 for consultants with 19 years’ experience
The Department of Health and Social care says that on average, consultants earn £127,228 a year
This included basic pay of £97,406 supplemented by £29,882 in pay for working beyond contracted hours, being on call, and for medical awards such as the clinical excellence award
Patients have been warned a “significant amount” of planned care involving junior doctors will be affected because other clinicians cannot provide cover or carry out supervisory roles.
The British Medical Association said consultants will provide “Christmas Day cover” – meaning only an emergency care level of service.
NHS England said: “We are now entering the eighth month of industrial action across the NHS and staff continue to work hard to provide patients with the best possible care under the circumstances.
“Industrial action has impacted approximately 600,000 hospital appointments across the NHS with over 365,000 staff absences due to industrial action during this time.”
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What if you need urgent medical care?
The NHS states people should use NHS111 online to be assessed and directed to the right care.
If you do not have internet access, then the 111 helpline is available.
When someone is seriously ill or injured and their life is at risk, you should seek emergency care in the normal way by calling 999.
The NHS website states: “Regardless of any strike action taking place, it is really important that patients who need urgent medical care continue to come forward as normal, especially in emergency and life-threatening cases.
“Patients should take advice from 111/999 call-handlers on whether there are circumstances where it is suitable for them to make their own way to hospital.
“During strike days, it is likely 999 and 111 call handlers will be very busy, this may mean longer call response times.”
GP services and pharmacies will be running as normal.
Health correspondent
Carol Haworth is lying in a bed in Preston Hospital’s Emergency Department after breaking her left hip in a fall.
Dr Amogh Patel patiently explains that the 68-year-old great-grandmother will need immediate surgery to repair her shattered joint.
The surgery will fall on the first day of the nationwide NHS consultants strike
Carol’s case encapsulates the problems facing the NHS. She will have the emergency operation to repair her left hip, but has already waited nine months for surgery on her right hip.
And that wait will go on.
It is exactly the sort of life changing operation that will be cancelled in the thousands over the next 48 hours because of the consultants’ strike.
Carol remains philosophical: “We’ve had a lot of knock backs with COVID and this is only setting it back even further. So what can you do? It’s no good just squabbling about it, is it? You’ve just got to take it as it goes.”
‘My door is always open’
On the strikes by senior doctors, Health Secretary Steve Barclay said: “I hugely value the work of NHS consultants which is why we have accepted the independent pay review body recommendations in full, giving them a 6% pay rise this year, on top of last year’s 4.5% increase.
“My door is always open to discuss non-pay issues, but this pay award is final so I urge the BMA to end their strikes immediately.”
