Millions paid for cover during doctors' strike

Next month, both junior doctors and consultants will be on strike at the same time

The West's biggest hospital is having to pay more than £3m to plug holes in staffing, left by striking doctors.

University Hospitals Bristol and Weston paid consultants £261 an hour to provide cover for striking junior doctors, the BBC has found.

The finding comes as junior doctors again walk out over pay.

Ahead of more strikes next month, one doctor's union has advised consultants to work extra shifts to make up for going on strike.

Figures obtained by the BBC under the Freedom of Information Act show that between March and July, £3,185,000 was paid by the University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust for extra staffing, with consultants earning an extra £2,100 per month on average.

The cost of this cover is five times more than the trust saved from the pay deducted from striking junior doctors.

Speaking from the picket line outside the BRI, junior doctor and British Medical Association (BMA) representative, Sam Taylor-Smith said: "Unfortunately, these strikes are costly for trusts and we do recognise that.

Junior doctor Sam Taylor-Smith said they recognise that the strikes are "costly" for the trusts

"That is actually why we are urging the government to get around the table as soon as possible, because them trying to say we are not going to pay junior doctors a fair wage, we are going to give them a pay cut, that is costing them more with the cost of consultants covering for us."

The BBC has also obtained an email sent by the BMA, advising consultant members to make up for lost pay by doing overtime, ahead of the strikes in October.

It said: "We encourage doctors to book locum shifts before and after the strike action in order to make up for lost pay during strikes."

While the strikers have enjoyed public support until now, these payments are not going down well with members of the public.

One person told the BBC: "I think the unions are profiteering from this. They are making money, they are wasting NHS money."

Another person added: "I think that is absolutely disgraceful. You are paying far more in 'scab wages' than you would have just giving the juniors a pay rise."

Junior doctors will also walk out from 2 to 4 October, which is when consultants will also be striking.