Wales junior doctor strike: Thousands begin three-day walkout

More than 3,000 junior doctors could withdraw their labour for three days

Thousands of junior doctors across Wales have begun a three-day strike in their latest action in a pay dispute.

More than 3,000 British Medical Association (BMA) members are expected to withdraw their services, with most planned operations postponed.

It is the second walk out by doctors since January, who said they have effectively lost about a third of their pay in last 15 years.

The Welsh government said its 5% on offer is all it can afford.

Gwenllian Roberts, 26, is a first-year junior doctor making just over £27,000 a year, and was on a picket line outside Ysbyty Gwynedd in Bangor.

"We've had a pay cut over many years to be honest," she told BBC Radio Wales Breakfast.

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Huge pressures in the workplace are already driving junior doctors "away to Australia, New Zealand", she added.

"But what's also pushing them is the pay because that's not allowing them to stay here and live a comfortable life over here."

Gwenllian Roberts apologises to patients who miss appointments, but says the strike is about the long-term health of the NHS

She apologised to patients who have an appointment postponed because of the strike.

"I sympathise with them, but it's about the longevity of the system," she said.

"Many more thousands of people are missing their clinic appointments because of waiting lists or spending hours waiting because junior doctors are moving away.

"It's about future proofing the many doctors, trying to get people to stay in the country by offering them a pay deal that is worth staying for."

The BMA, which represents junior doctors, accuses the Welsh government of being "in denial"

Isabel Reicher, a GP trainee at the University Hospital Wales in Cardiff, said: "No doctor wants to strike.

"The wider issue is the chronic underfunding of the NHS and the poor treatment of its staff.

"It's really sad because we all trained here, we love the NHS and looking after patients but we feel undervalued at the moment and that what's pushing people away I think."

Dr Oba Babs-Osibodu, the co-chairman of BMA Cymru's junior doctors committee, accused the government of being "in denial".

"[Ministers] seem to still think that they can just ignore this and it's going to go away," he said.

Junior doctors make up about 40% of the medical workforce in Wales

"We're going to continue to strike until Welsh government moves on its position."

He said doctors' pay has been falling in real terms for a decade and a half.

"They've deliberately and consciously cut up pay year after year after year, to the point now where doctors are earning just £13.65 per hour while looking after hundreds of patients," he said.

"This is a mess that they've created and they need to fix."

The strike started at 07:00 GMT on Wednesday and will last until 07:00 on Saturday.

There are about 4,000 junior doctors working in Wales, making up 40% of its total medical workforce, mainly in hospitals.

Nearly a quarter work for Cardiff and Vale health board, which provides a large proportion of highly specialised treatment like neurosurgery and transplants.

It means the impact on planned services will be significant.

Eluned Morgan says she understands the strength of feeling amongst BMA members about their falling pay

Health Minister Eluned Morgan said: "We understand the situation in terms of pay erosion, but the real problem is that we are at the limit of what we can afford to pay them."

The 5% pay offer, she said, is "exactly the same was what's been offered to everybody else in the NHS".

"Even to get to that amount, we've had to go around the whole of the cabinet table asking them for additional resources," she said.

"You've seen the screams coming from across the rest of government and other departments [which have had] significant cuts in order to spend an extra £450m on the NHS.

"The pressures are not just on health, but local government, on education, on culture, on sport, on all of those place that have had to give money to the NHS to shore it up.

"We can only go as far as the money we get from the UK government."

What should I do if I have an NHS appointment in Wales?

Ms Morgan encouraged people who need to attend an emergency department to still do so throughout the strike action, and for others to consider "the best option for them", including using the 111 online or phone service, or go to their local pharmacy.

She said non-emergency and elective appointments and treatments are expected to be stood down, with services resembling Bank Holiday staffing.

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