Junior doctors threaten to extend strikes to September just hours after longest, 6-day walkout ends
JUNIOR doctors have threatened to strike again if ministers don’t offer them more money “now”.
Their demand came just hours after the end of a record-breaking six-day walkout that will leave the NHS reeling for weeks.
The British Medical Association said it can call more strikes until the end of February and is planning a vote on extending the mandate for six more months – until September.
NHS figures are tomorrow set to show that more than a million appointments and operations have been cancelled due to the medics’ nine strikes to date.
Strike leaders Dr Robert Laurenson and Dr Vivek Trivedi said: “Junior doctors are ready to settle this dispute once and for all.
“No strikes are currently scheduled and now is the Health Secretary’s moment to come forward with a credible offer that delivers the reasonable outcome of pay restoration.
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“Instead of passing the unhappy milestone of a year of strikes, we could this spring instead be celebrating a deal.”
It comes after Health Secretary Victoria Atkins called the BMA “unreasonable” and praised “heroic” colleagues for picking up their slack.
There is a ray of hope for patients as both sides said they felt close to a deal before December’s talks broke down.
Union negotiators appeared to soften their stance and suggest they would take a pay deal spread over a number of years.
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But ministers insist their headline demand – equal to a pay rise above 35 per cent – is still too high.
Hospital bosses are desperate for a breakthrough as wage costs and waiting lists mount.
Saffron Cordery, of NHS Providers, said: “The NHS and its patients simply cannot afford the possibility of junior doctors striking for another six months.”