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Striking junior doctors will paralyze the NHS days before Christmas as they plan 72 hours of carnage.
Struggling hospitals will also be rocked by six consecutive days of action by the British Medical Association (BMA) in the New Year, marking the longest strike ever in the 75-year history of the NHS.
It will coincide with one of the traditionally busiest periods.
Wage negotiations between the militant union and the Government have failed, despite hopes of progress.
Since the endless wave of strikes began last winter, BMA bosses have pushed for a 35 per cent pay rise for junior doctors.
The union said the Government’s new offer amounted to an additional 3 per cent on top of the 9.8 per cent increase already offered.
Health Secretary Victoria Atkins said the Government would “look to get back to the table immediately” if the devastating strikes were called off.
Young doctors in England voted to hold further strikes in December and January after talks between the Government and the British Medical Association collapsed.
Official figures also show that waiting lists for routine NHS procedures have also soared to a new record, with around 6.5 million patients in England waiting for 7.77 million appointments and procedures in England.
The BMA union is calling for a total strike by all doctors in training in the days before Christmas and also in the new year. Pictured: Health workers on the picket line outside St Thomas’ Hospital in London in September this year.
Junior doctors in England will strike from 7am on December 20 to 7am on December 23 and from 7am on January 3 to 7am on January 9.
Ms Atkins said: “It is disappointing that, despite significant progress, the BMA’s junior doctors committee has abandoned negotiations and declared further strike action, which will lead to further disruption for patients and additional pressure on services. and NHS staff as we enter very busy times. winter period, putting patient safety at risk.
‘I have made it clear that I respect the work of junior doctors and want to work with them to resolve this dispute.
“We have agreed with the BMA advisory committee a fair and reasonable offer which, following constructive discussions, will be put to a vote by members.”
He added: “If the young doctors committee cancels its strikes, we will immediately try to return to the table to continue negotiations.”
Dr Robert Laurenson and Dr Vivek Trivedi, co-chairs of the BMA’s young doctors committee, said: “We have been clear from the beginning of these talks that we needed to move at a good pace and that if we did not have a credible offer, we would be forced to call strikes.
‘After five weeks of intense talks, the Government was unable to present a credible pay offer before the deadline.
“Instead, they offered us an additional 3 percent, distributed unevenly across ranks of doctors, which would still amount to pay cuts for many doctors this year.”
They added: “It is clear that the Government is still not prepared to address the real terms pay cuts that doctors have experienced since 2008.
‘It is a great shame that, although the approach was more constructive, there was not enough offer to shape a credible agreement, which we hoped would end the dispute.
‘Without sufficient progress before the deadline, we have no choice but to take action that demonstrates that doctors are more determined than ever to reverse their pay cuts.
Health and Social Care Secretary Victoria Atkins (pictured in November) said the Government would “immediately look to get back to the table” if strikes by junior doctors were called off.
‘However, we can still avoid the need for these attacks. We will be ready and willing any time the Government wants to talk. If a credible offer can be made the day before, or even during any action, these strikes can be called off.
‘Mrs Atkins and the team’s approach has been productive but ultimately that alone is not enough to offset 15 years of declining wages.
‘A year after our dispute began, we are still too far from turning the tide on declining doctors’ pay, morale and retention.
“Rather than wasting more time and money and further disrupting patient care, the Health Secretary needs to make a credible offer now.”
In the wake of Covid and the endless strikes, waiting lists have skyrocketed to an all-time high.
NHS figures show 7.8 million patients currently need routine treatment, up from 4.5 million before the pandemic.
Insiders fear that the dire situation is likely to worsen with the onset of winter and the constant threat of new attacks.
The strikes come as waiting lists for routine NHS procedures have soared to another record. At Prime Minister’s Questions last month, Labor leader Keir Starmer said the NHS waiting list was 7.8 million, half a million more than in January.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak (pictured today) pledged earlier this year to reduce waiting lists and the newly appointed Mrs Atkins has made tackling disputes with doctors one of her top priorities.
Last week, Ms Atkins said ending the strike would prevent the NHS from having to reschedule appointments during strikes (file photo of an NHS hospital ward)
Sir Julian Hartley, chief executive of NHS Providers, said: “This is the outcome trust leaders feared.”
‘This will be the longest strike in the history of the NHS during the busiest and most difficult time of the year for the NHS.
‘These strikes will undermine efforts to further reduce waiting lists and will have a serious knock-on effect on services across the NHS.
‘As we have seen in previous strikes, patients will again pay the price for further delays and disruptions.
“We know that this strike action will be particularly difficult for trusts to manage, given that many staff will have annual leave booked over the festive period…
“It is not too late for the Government and the unions to resolve this conflict and prevent further strikes.”
It is estimated that the strikes have already cost the NHS more than £1.3bn and more than a million delayed patient appointments.
The Prime Minister pledged at the beginning of the year to reduce waiting lists and the newly appointed Ms. Atkins has made addressing disputes with doctors one of her top priorities.
His language has proven markedly different from that of his predecessor Steve Barclay, who referred to the BMA as having a “politically militant stance”.
Last week, the Government reached an agreement with consultants in England to potentially end a long and bitter dispute over pay.
Officials refused to budge on their original offer, valued at about 6 percent, for months.
But now the Government has promised to give an additional 4.95 per cent ‘salary investment’ which will allow consultants (who earn six-figure salaries, on average) to receive up to an extra £20,000.
The agreement that is on the consultants’ table is voted on by the members of the BMA.
Young doctors are understood to be seeking a 35 per cent pay rise, but Ms Atkins has said the Government cannot meet those requests.