NHS patients face 11 hour A&E wait times as junior doctors stage historic strike
Junior doctors in England are holding the longest strike in NHS history at a time when the service is at its 'most stretched', ITV News Health Correspondent Rebecca Barry reports
Hospitals are under "extreme pressure" and are "exceptionally busy" as the longest walkout in NHS history got underway on Wednesday.
One hospital declared a critical incident while others reported significant delays in A&E departments, with one saying patients may need to wait “up to 11 hours”.
Today junior doctors began an unprecedented six days of strikes over pay.
Strikes will impact almost all routine care, with consultants covering as the NHS prioritises urgent and emergency cases with the impact being felt for “weeks and months” as appointments are rescheduled.
Flu and winter illnesses, combined with rising staff absences due to coronavirus, are set to add more pressure to services that will already be stretched by the strike.
Sir Stephen told the public: “I cannot stress enough that people who need care must come forward as they usually would – using 999 and A&E in life-threatening emergencies and 111 online for everything else.”
Junior doctors are set to walk out from 7am on January 3 until 7am on January 9.
The strike amounts to 144 consecutive hours of industrial action – the longest in the 75-year history of the health service.
Which hospitals are most impacted?
Queen Alexandra Hospital in Portsmouth declared a critical incident. as its A&E department was “full”.
Bolton NHS Foundation Trust said it was facing “extreme pressure” with waiting times in A&E of “up to 11 hours”.
Warwick Hospital warned it is under “extreme heightened pressure” while Airedale Hospital said its emergency department is “exceptionally busy”.
Health officials in Wigan said emergency services were “very busy” and that doctors were seeing “a lot of minor illnesses that could’ve been treated at a GP or pharmacy.”
Leeds Teaching Hospitals warned its hospitals are “under significant pressure.”
Health officials in East Sussex, South Tees, Gateshead, Greater Manchester, Berkshire, Rotherham and The Princess Alexandra Hospital in Harlow, Essex, reported being “busy”.
What are the junior doctors asking for?
The British Medical Association (BMA) union wants junior doctors to get a 35% pay rise, which it says would restore their real earnings to 2008 levels, but the government says this is unaffordable.
Dr Rob Laurenson and Dr Vivek Trivedi, co-chairs of the BMA’s Junior Doctors Committee, said on Tuesday evening that even “at this late hour” the government could've put forward a credible offer.
"Exhausted and demoralised junior doctors are facing the brunt of underinvestment, high waiting lists and lack of resources," they added.
The BMA said junior doctors’ pay has been cut by more than a quarter since 2008.
Dr Laurenson and Dr Trivedi said: “We spent the holiday period hoping we would get the ‘final offer’ that the Health Secretary had promised us last year. Sadly, we have received no such offer despite repeatedly saying we would meet for talks any time over Christmas.
“We will continue to offer to meet throughout these coming strikes. All we need is a credible offer we can put to members and we can call off these strikes.
“This strike marks another unhappy record for the NHS – the longest single walkout in its history – but there is no need for any records to fall: we can call off this strike now if we get an offer from government that we can put to members.”
In summer 2023, the government gave junior doctors in England an average rise of 8.8%, but medics said the increase was not enough and ramped up strike efforts.
Late last year both sides entered talks, hoping to break the deadlock, but after five weeks of negotiations they broke down and medics called more strikes.
Over 1 million appointments postponed due to strikes
Figures released last month showed more than 1.2 million appointments were postponed because of industrial action in the NHS since it began in December 2022.
Strikes by junior doctors last month caused around 86,000 appointments to be put back.
Health and Social Care Secretary Victoria Atkins said: “January is typically the busiest time of the year for the NHS and these strikes will have a serious impact on patients across the country.
“I urge the BMA Junior Doctors Committee to call off their strikes and come back to the negotiating table so we can find a fair and reasonable solution to end the strikes once and for all.”
'Very concerned' over elderly amid strikes
Meanwhile, charity Age UK warned unwell elderly patients could put off seeking medical help due to the walkouts.
Paul Farmer, chief executive at Age UK, said: “We are deeply concerned about the risk this poses to older people’s health as, with the very best will in the world and efforts of staff, it will be difficult to guarantee safe and effective care for everyone who needs it."
“We have increasingly heard from older people, already struggling to access the help they need, now worried what ongoing strikes mean for themselves and their families on top,” Mr Farmer added.
He said the current situation is “unsustainable” as he urged the government and doctors to resolve the dispute.
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