Appointments cancelled as junior doctors strike

January's walkout is the ninth since March 2023

A hospital trust in Staffordshire has cancelled up to 860 outpatient appointments and 38 elective surgeries in response to staff strike action.

Junior doctors have started a six day walkout, their longest to date, in a dispute over pay that has seen them strike nine times since last March.

Members of the British Medical Association (BMA) are calling for a 35% pay rise to make up for below-inflation pay rises in previous years.

The government says the request is unaffordable, with negotiations ongoing.

Dr Zia Din, deputy medical director at University Hospitals of North Midlands (UHNM), said hospital staff are already under pressure at this time of year because of winter illnesses, and the strikes have made this even more challenging.

“We tried to keep cancellations to a minimum,” he said.

“Where patients’ surgeries are critical, they continue to have them.”

Dr Din also confirmed patients already on wards will continue to be seen in a timely manner, with tests and investigations as required.

He asked people to make use of services such as 111 and the NHS website, and only to call 999 if someone's life is in danger.

'Derisory and insulting'

Dr Arjan Singh, a member of the BMA’s junior doctor committee, said he and his colleagues have had a 26% pay cut since 2008.

The BMA estimated its demands would cost £1bn, which compares to £37bn spent on the pandemic Test and Trace scheme and £15bn on unusable PPE, it said.

The union argued the NHS spends about £3bn per year on agency staff.

Dr Singh said the government’s offer meant doctors in their first year would be paid £16 per hour, but the BMA wanted this to be £21 per hour.

He said the government’s offer would leave doctors paid less than their assistants.

“This is a derisory, inadequate and quite frankly insulting offer,” he said.

“We’re not saying that pay has to be given all in one year, it can be done over several years.

“What we’re asking for is a credible offer and the government is aware of that because we’re in negotiations with them.”