The longest-running strike by hospital doctors in England’s seven-decade-long National Health Service (NHS) history began on Wednesday.
A six-day protest by junior doctors, or those below the consultant level, marked a significant turning point in their long-running pay dispute with the UK government.
The state-funded NHS is under more strain during the busiest time of year due to winter respiratory diseases, which coincides with the strike action.
It also comes right after a three-day medical strike that took place right before Christmas.
According to the NHS, the most recent strike would have “a significant impact on almost all routine care,” with as many as half of the medical staff potentially staging picket lines.
“This January could be one of the most difficult starts to the year the NHS has ever faced,” said its national medical director, Stephen Powis.
The strike is due to end at 0700 GMT next Tuesday.
December saw the announcement of the walkout by the British Medical Association (BMA), following a breakdown in negotiations with the government.
According to the union, junior doctors have been offered an additional 3.0% raise, on top of the 8.8% average increase they received earlier this year.
It declined the offer on the grounds that the money would “still amount to pay cuts for many doctors” and would be distributed unevenly among various doctor grades.
Junior doctors have gone on strike at least seven times since March.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and hospital leaders have criticised the action.
‘Significant’
Health policy is a devolved matter for the administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, with the UK government overseeing England.
Junior doctors in Wales are due to walk out for 72 hours from January 15.
Those in Northern Ireland have voted for potential strike action.
Their Scottish counterparts have struck a deal with the government in Edinburgh.
The two weeks after Christmas usually see an increase in hospital admissions for the NHS as a result of patients delaying treatment to spend the holidays with family and friends.
Large waiting lists for surgeries and appointments are already present in the service; these backlogs are attributed to years of underfunding as well as treatment postponements during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The head of NHS Providers, an organization that advocates for hospital groups in England, Julian Hartley, predicted that the strikes will have a “significant” impact on patient care.
“The vast majority of planned operations, appointments, and so on, will have to be stood down,” he told BBC television.
Consultants will cover for junior doctors and emergency and urgent care such as maternity and intensive care services will be operating.
But there are fears that Covid, flu and other seasonal conditions could also hit staffing.
“We’re deeply concerned about the kind of impact over the coming days,” said Hartley.