JUNIOR doctors have started their fifth strike today as NHS waiting lists hit another record high.
Some 7.57million people were waiting to start treatment at the end of June, up by 100,000 in a month despite Rishi Sunak’s pledge to shrink the list.
PAJunior doctors have started their fifth strike today as NHS waiting lists hit another record high[/caption]
PAJunior doctor strike outside University College London Hospital at the start a four-day strike today[/caption]
Health chiefs warned the NHS is set for its busiest summer yet, as strikes batter efforts to reduce waits.
NHS Providers estimates the strikes have already cost the health service £1billion, adding services “could be close to a tipping point”.
Steve Barclay claimed strike action by doctors “serves only to harm patients” and puts “further pressure” on their colleagues.
Writing for the Daily Mail, the Health Secretary said: “I want to have a grown-up conversation about how to fix the legitimate frustrations these doctors face, and work together to improve their working lives.
“Striking is not going to help anyone achieve that and ultimately it is patients that have to bear the brunt of walkouts.”
Sir Julian Hartley, chief executive of NHS Providers, said hospital trusts were having to “pay premium rates to consultants” to cover the roles of junior doctors while they were on picket lines.
Treasury minister John Glen said the rescheduling of thousands of operations was “not good for patients” as he defended the pay offer made to those striking.
He told Sky News: “We as a Government have to be responsible in the pay settlements that we give, and we listened to the Independent Pay Review body and that means giving junior doctors in their first year over 10 per cent increase.”
But grandstanding union bosses called for Rishi Sunak‘s direct involvement in pay negotiations.
They suggested an email from the Prime Minister could potentially halt the upcoming four days of strikes.
Dr Robert Laurenson told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “There have been reports of an informal meeting but to be honest, the meeting that was described was pointless. It was irrelevant.
“We were asked if we’d like to talk and of course we are. We are always ready to talk. We would always like to talk and we’d always like to avert strike action.
“Indeed, you know, Mr Barclay could send us an email – or preferably Mr Sunak – and we could organise a negotiation right now and stop the next four days of strike action.
“But this meeting that happened, they wanted to talk about non-pay related issues.
“And we went and we said, ‘well OK, what non-pay related issues would you like to talk about?’ And they said, ‘oh, we can’t talk about that’. So they had bound themselves by their own rules.”
Some new doctors are taking to picket lines today just days after starting their first health service jobs.
Professor Julian Redhead, of NHS England, said: “This summer is currently on trajectory to be the busiest in NHS history, all while industrial action continues to disrupt services.
“While tomorrow the NHS will see thousands of appointments and procedures likely to be postponed, the NHS will need to prioritise emergency care once again.”
The figures show 383,083 people had been waiting more than a year to start routine hospital treatment at the end of June, down slightly from 385,022 at the end of May.
Some 7,177 patients were waiting more than 18 months, down from 11,446 at the end of May.
Nicola Ranger, of the Royal College of Nurses, said: “With a record number of patients now on a waiting list in England, the NHS is falling into deeper crisis.”
Saffron Cordery, of NHS Providers, said record waiting lists have been caused by “a perfect storm” of industrial action, squeezed funding, the Covid pandemic and workforce shortages.
The Prime Minister has made cutting waiting lists one of his priorities for 2023, pledging in January that “lists will fall and people will get the care they need more quickly”.
But he says strikes across the health service are making the task “more challenging”.
Industrial action has been ongoing since December 2022 in the NHS, leading to the postponement of almost 835,000 appointments.
In July, the Government said junior doctors will receive 6 per cent, as well as an additional £1,250 consolidated rise.
Mr Sunak said “there will be no more talks” on pay and that the Government’s proposed deal is “fair”.
Dr Rosena Allin-Khan, Labour’s shadow cabinet minister for mental health, said: “One in eight people are now waiting for NHS treatment, more than ever before.
“Patients are waiting in pain and discomfort for months or even years.”
She claimed Mr Sunak “blames hard-working doctors and nurses, yet he hasn’t lifted a finger to stop the strikes”.
Daisy Cooper, Lib Dem deputy leader, said Health Secretary Steve Barclay “is not up to the job and owes the public an apology”.