Junior doctors begin longest strike yet in England

Junior doctors successful England volition statesman their longest walkout yet today, successful protestation implicit pay.

They accidental the government's refusal to speech up of the five-day onslaught is "baffling" and "frustrating".

Health Secretary Steve Barclay said doctors' 35% wage request was "unreasonable" and the onslaught puts diligent information astatine risk.

Thousands of planned appointments are being postponed, arsenic exigency and urgent attraction are prioritised.

The onslaught starts astatine 07:00 connected Thursday 13 July and ends astatine 07:00 connected Tuesday 18 July.

NHS England said anyone who needs attraction during the onslaught should usage 999 oregon A&E successful a life-threatening exigency and - for much insignificant wellness concerns - interaction NHS 111 online oregon spell to the nearest pharmacy.

People volition beryllium contacted if their assignment has to beryllium rescheduled. GP and assemblage appointments are improbable to beryllium affected.

NHS England aesculapian manager Stephen Powis said the wellness work was "entering an incredibly busy, disruptive period" and unit were doing each they tin to support services and code a grounds backlog of patients waiting for appointments oregon treatment.

More than 600,000 NHS appointments successful England person already been cancelled oregon postponed owed to strikes by doctors, nurses and different healthcare workers successful caller months.

Richard McKenzie, a selling manager from Berkshire, is successful changeless symptom waiting for an cognition for a caller genu which was scheduled for today, but has been postponed due to the fact that of the strike.

"The symptom is similar having a blistery volcano successful your genu and idiosyncratic sticks blistery needles into the blistery volcano. It's horrendous," helium says.

"It means you can't sleep, you can't remainder - and I can't deliberation either," helium says. "Or I person to instrumentality specified a ample load of painkillers that I can't deliberation anyway."

He said his concern is "completely" affecting his life: "When you're successful symptom each the clip you get crabby, it affects relationships, it affects however you work, it makes you snappy. It's ever determination and you can't get distant from it."

Richard is not assured his cognition volition hap connected the rescheduled day successful a fewer weeks clip either.

And he's disquieted astir the interaction of changeless delays connected his work, which requires regular question to Germany.

Junior doctors accidental wage rises they've received for the past 15 years person been beneath inflation, and a 35% wage summation is present needed to marque up for that.

The British Medical Association (BMA) union, which represents doctors, said a authorities connection of a 5% wage emergence was not "credible".

Some 86% of British Medical Association members backed the latest walkouts, which are the 4th onslaught by inferior doctors successful England since the wage quality began.

Junior doctors marque up astir fractional of each infirmary doctors successful England and a 4th of each doctors moving successful GP surgeries. The BMA represents much than 46,000 inferior doctors successful the UK.

Health and Social Care Secretary Steve Barclay said the wage request of 35% by inferior doctors successful England "risks fuelling inflation, which makes everyone poorer".

"If the BMA shows willingness to determination importantly from their existent wage demands and cancels these damaging and disruptive strikes, we tin get astir the array to find a just woody to resoluteness this dispute," helium said.

The BMA inferior doctors' committee urged the authorities to "reassess their entrenched position" and get backmost to talks.

Consultants volition beryllium providing what is being described arsenic "Christmas Day cover" - exigency attraction volition beryllium provided, on with a precise constricted magnitude of regular work.

Apart from strikes, hospitals person faced different challenges to get backmost to afloat capableness since Covid hit. These see staffing shortages, much exigency patients and problems discharging patients due to the fact that of the deficiency of attraction successful the community.

More than 7.3 cardinal radical are connected the waiting database astatine the infinitesimal - astir 3 cardinal much than earlier the pandemic.

One successful 20 has been waiting much than a twelvemonth - though the NHS has got adjacent to eliminating waits of much than 18 months.

Are you a doc with a presumption connected the strike? Are you a diligent affected? Share your experiences by emailing haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk.

Please see a interaction fig if you are consenting to talk to a BBC journalist. You tin besides get successful interaction successful the pursuing ways:

If you are speechmaking this leafage and can't spot the signifier you volition request to sojourn the mobile mentation of the BBC website to taxable your question oregon remark oregon you tin email america astatine HaveYourSay@bbc.co.uk. Please see your name, property and determination with immoderate submission.