Government won't budge on pay as NHS braces for 'significant disruption' in junior doctor strike

The NHS in Wales will face "significant disruption" when junior doctors walk out for a second time on Wednesday over pay and working conditions, the Welsh Government has warned.

A three-day strike will begin at 7am lasting three days after an identical walkout in January.

The British Medical Association (BMA) in Wales decided to ballot members in August with almost 98% voting in favour of industrial action.

In an interview with ITV Wales, Dr Peter Fahey, co-chair of the Welsh BMA junior doctors committee, explained what the coming week entailed: "Next week we have a 72-hour full walkout of junior doctors in Wales.

"These are doctors from the first day they graduate as a doctor, all the way to the last day before becoming a consultant.

"These are doctors who might be your first port of call before coming into the hospital, they may be looking after hundreds of patients over night."

Junior doctors want to see their starting pay increase from £13.65 an hour to £19 an hour.

"We're hoping we can bring the Welsh Government to the table with a credible offer that can be the basis of discussions for where we move forward from this," Dr Fahey added.

The Welsh Government has offered a 5% pay rise, described as the worst in the UK, and said it cannot offer more with additional funding.

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Health is a devolved issue in Wales, meaning responsibility for pay, waiting lists, and budgets falls to the Labour administration.

Dr Fahey described the offer as "a further real terms pay cut for our members. This is absolutely unacceptable.

"The strength of feeling on the ground for junior doctors is incredibly strong.

"We don't want these strikes to go ahead, we're happy to call them off if a credible offer is placed on the table."

Health Minister Eluned Morgan said further talks are welcomed, but that the Welsh Government does not have the budget available to increase the pay deal.

"We are disappointed that junior doctors have decided to take further industrial action in Wales, but we understand their strength of feeling about our 5% pay offer," Ms Morgan said.

"Our offer is at the limits of the finances available to us and reflects the position reached with the other health unions."

The Health Minister said she will continue to press the UK Government to pass on the funding necessary for "full and fair pay rises" for public sector workers.

The UK Government has previously said that Wales has received a record level of funding this year.

During the industrial action in January 41% per cent of outpatient appointments and 61% of operations were postponed across Wales.

Welsh NHS Confederation Director Darren Hughes said: "It is disappointing that the BMA and government have not been able to find a solution to the ongoing pay dispute.

"Patient safety is of course the number one priority. Health leaders and their teams will pull out all the stops to fill rotas ahead of the strikes, but the reality is more patients having their operations or appointments cancelled, which will impact on attempts to tackle waiting lists for routine hospital care.

"As always, it is patients who bear the greatest burden from industrial action."

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