NHS consultants and junior doctors will strike TOGETHER for first time next month
NHS consultants and junior doctors will strike together for the first time next month.
The double-whammy will bring hospitals grinding to a halt as the British Medical Association drags patient misery to new levels.
They will walk out at the same time on September 20 and October 2, 3 and 4.
It will leave many hospitals with nearly no doctors, and only A&E and vital lifesaving services are likely to have staff.
More than a million appointments will have been hit by NHS walkouts by the end of the year.
And militant junior doctors, who are still demanding a 35 per cent pay hike, have threatened six more months of industrial action after renewing their mandate this week.
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The BMA said: “Never before have NHS consultants and junior doctors been forced to strike together for days on end, but that is where we have been brought by this Government.”
Both ranks are unhappy with the pay deal already received from ministers, which is equal to between six and 10 per cent.
Between 20,000 and 30,000 junior doctors have taken part in strikes over 19 days so far this year.
And consultants have held four days of walkouts, involving between 6,000 and 8,000 top-ranking medics.
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Junior doctors' mandate had expired after six months from their first vote but they today secured the power to strike for another six months, with a 71 per cent turnout with 98 per cent in favour.
Dr Rob Laurenson, junior docs' strike leader, said: "Junior doctors across England are sending a single message to the Government – we are not going anywhere.
"The Prime Minister has the power to halt any further action by making us a credible offer that we can put to our members.
"If he does not come to the table with a credible offer on pay, he will face another six months of strike action – and another six months after, and after that, if he continues to ignore us."
Dr Vishal Sharma, of the consultants' committee, added: "It is becoming ever clearer that this Government does not value us or our work and nor does it really value patient care."
Health and Social Care Secretary Steve Barclay said: "This is extremely disappointing and I know it will weigh heavily on the minds of their NHS colleagues and patients – both of whom are shouldering the brunt of the BMA’s relentless and now co-ordinated strike action.
“Nearly 900,000 appointments have been cancelled due to strike action and I fear the BMA’s hard-line stance and threat of indefinite action means this number will only keep rising.
“Doctors who started their hospital training this year will receive a 10.3 per cent pay increase, with the average junior doctor set to get 8.8 per cent.
“My door is always open to discuss how we can work together with NHS staff to improve their working lives, but this pay award is final so I urge the BMA to call an end to this callous and calculated disruption.”