Worry over 'safety impact' on patients as NHS consultants go on strike over pay

• Video report by Granada Reports Correspondent Rob Smith

A mother who had her operation cancelled just a few days before because of NHS consultant strikes says she is “struggling to work”.

Donna Carter, from Urmston, was due to have a hysterectomy on Friday 21 July - but received a letter to say it was cancelled due to strike action.

Thousands of consultants in England have walked out over pay, with the action expected to cause mass disruption across the NHS.

Consultant doctors and hospital-based dentists will strike for 48 hours from 7am on Thursday morning until 7am on Saturday.

Donna said: “I am really devastated. I’d made plans with work and my son.

"It was really tough. I’ve been in constant pain.

"I'm struggling to work and struggling to parent.”

The Health Secretary Steve Barclay said his "plea to consultants is to recognise they [the government] have listened" and "it is now time to put patients first".

The continued action comes after Rishi Sunak accepted the pay recommendations of independent pay review bodies, with consultants offered a 6% salary uplift, which has been widely rejected by unions.

On the picket lines, consultants say they are struggling to persuade colleagues to stay in the NHS.

Rebecca Fish, a Consultant Surgeon in Manchester, said: “The pay erosion over time looks set to continue if we get below inflation pay rises. It begs the question in 10 years time, who will be wanting to do my job.”

Den Langhor, an Emergency Medicine Consultant in Liverpool, said: “We’ve got to the point where we are losing doctors, they are leaving the UK. The demand on the NHS is far outstripping the resources we have.”

On strike days, as a minimum, consultant will provide a Christmas Day service. All the most seriously ill patients will have consultants in to look after them.

Kevin McGee, Chief Executive of Lancashire Teaching Hospitals said: “The summer period is typically our quietest period and we are struggling even now.

"If we go into a winter period where we continue with strikes, I really worry with safety and the overall impact to our patients. We have to resolve it and we have to resolve it soon.”

During the 48-hour strike, the public is being urged to dial 999 for life-threatening emergencies and to contact NHS 111 online for other health concerns.

GP services and pharmacies will be running as normal.

Doctors are expected to line picket lines across England, while a rally will also be held at the BMA headquarters in central London on Thursday afternoon, attended by its consultants’ committee chair Dr Vishal Sharma.

In a statement, Dr Sharma said Health Secretary Steve Barclay had met doctors just once in seven months and had refused further talks on pay.

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