NHS Strikes – Most Disruptive Walkout Yet Could Result In Quarter Of A Million Appointments & Operations Being Cancelled

Junior doctors in the NHS across England have today begun a four-day walkout which is expected to be the most disruptive in NHS history.

More than 40% of the medical workforce are classed as junior doctors – a term which covers those just out of medical school through to those with a decade of experience.

The junior doctor strikes could mean the cancellation of more than a quarter of a million appointments and operations with some hospitals saying that up to half of planned treatment is affected.

Whilst trade union laws stipulate that life-and-limb cover must be provided, meaning that doctors could be pulled off the picket lines if lives were in immediate danger, those awaiting non-urgent treatment are likely to be the ones who suffer as appointments and operations inevitably have to be cancelled or pushed back.

NHS England’s national medical director, Professor Sir Stephen Powis, said that it would be “the most disruptive industrial action in NHS history” and warned that it would take weeks to recover from the junior doctor strikes as services would undoubtedly be affected.

Last month, junior doctors staged a three-day walkout, which resulted in 175,000 treatments and appointments being cancelled, but it is expected that this time we will see considerably more cancellations this time around. Estimates from senior NHS figures suggest between 250,000 and 350,000 appointments and operations could be cancelled during this period of industrial action.

Comment

There is bound to be conflict over this issue.

On the one hand, junior doctors clearly make up a large proportion of the NHS workforce and they are vital to the service. Clearly, their desire to be supported and adequately paid for the hours and specialism they bring is important.

It is reported that the British Medical Association have said that they are not in a fixed position and simply want the Government to listen and engage with them. Some would say that it is the Government’s fault that we are now in a situation of yet more walk-outs.

However, on the other hand, it is plain to see that the walkouts are now causing massive disruption to an already struggling NHS service and it leads to the question of how will the pieces be picked up. If the junior doctors are already stretched to their limit, the impact of their walkout will only add to this significantly.

In the meantime, vulnerable and innocent patients are left to suffer as their operations or appointments are cancelled and must feel like they are being used as pawns in a dispute that is nothing to do with them.

Delayed operations or appointments could well lead to a patient suffering further harm as they continue to await treatment or diagnosis. Patient safety has to be the utmost priority but it seems that this is far from the case during the walkouts.