Junior doctors' strike could hit up to 250,000 appointments, health bosses warn

Up to 4th of a cardinal operations and appointments could beryllium postponed owed to adjacent week's inferior doctors' strike, the NHS Confederation warns.

Patients are apt to spot much of an interaction due to the fact that the four-day walkout comes aft the Easter weekend, said Dr Layla McCay, manager of argumentation astatine the wellness bosses' confederation.

Health bosses "are much acrophobic astir this than they person been astir immoderate different strike", she said.

The walkout is owed to commencement connected Tuesday.

Hospital bosses person said they cannot warrant patients volition beryllium harmless arsenic managers conflict to put staffing during the strike, which volition impact some exigency and planned care.

The British Medical Association (BMA) says it volition not exempt immoderate services but that determination are plans to support patients, which could impact pulling inferior doctors disconnected the picket enactment if idiosyncratic hospitals study lives are successful contiguous danger.

It is calling for a 35% wage emergence to marque up for 15 years of below-inflation wage rises.

Dr McCay told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "In the past inferior doctors' strike, we saw astir 175,000 appointments and operations having to beryllium postponed.

"In presumption of the disruption that we're anticipating this time, we reckon it could beryllium up to astir a 4th of a cardinal truthful that is simply a immense magnitude of interaction for patients up and down the country.

"It's besides a monolithic administrative challenge."

The walkout volition beryllium from 07:00 BST connected Tuesday to 07:00 BST connected Saturday. During past month's strike, hospitals drafted successful consultants to supply screen but it is estimated a 4th of them are connected permission owed to the Easter holidays.

"With the inferior doctors retired for the 4 days, but those 4 days being bookmarked either broadside by the Easter play and different weekend, the disruption is going to spell connected for 10 oregon 11 days," said Dr McCay.

"What we expect to spot is truly important diminished capableness wrong the wellness service."

On wellness leaders' fears astir the strikes, she added: "They deliberation the interaction is going to beryllium truthful important that this 1 is apt to person interaction connected diligent safety, and that is simply a immense interest for each healthcare leader."

Postponements are apt truthful that hospitals tin absorption connected the astir urgent and life-threatening cases, said Dr McCay.

Health Secretary Steve Barclay has been urged to conscionable national representatives implicit the slope vacation play to effort to resoluteness the issue.

Dr Vivek Trivedi, co-director of the inferior doctors' committee astatine the BMA, said they privation to beryllium definite Mr Barclay "is superior astir wage erosion" - but added helium is yet to enactment a credible connection connected the table.

"All we're asking for is simply a credible connection that shows america he's serious, that we tin commencement a way of negotiations to effort to code the real-terms wage cut," helium said.

The Department of Health and Social Care has said the BMA has to telephone disconnected the onslaught for immoderate negotiations to instrumentality place.

It says the authorities is moving with NHS England to enactment contingency plans successful spot to support diligent information during the strike.

"The NHS volition prioritise resources to support exigency treatment, captious care, maternity and neonatal care, and trauma," a spokesperson said.