Hospital doctors in England will today on Thursday (today) stage the biggest walkout in the history of the UK’s state-funded National Health Service, prompting fears for patient safety.
The unprecedented five-day stoppage over pay and staffing is the latest in eight months of industrial action across the NHS, which is already reeling from a vast pandemic backlog.
Nurses, ambulance staff, and other medical staff have all joined picket lines in recent months, adding to the pressure on patient appointments.
The industrial action by junior doctors — those below the consultant level — began at 7:00 am (0600 GMT) and lasted until 7:00 am on Tuesday.
It comes against a background of walk-outs across the economy from train drivers to lawyers over the past year as the UK battles a crippling cost-of-living crisis.
Senior hospital doctors, known as consultants, in England, will also begin a 48-hour strike on July 20, with radiographers following suit from July 25.
The bitter row between junior doctors and the government has seen them call for their 2008-9 pay levels to be restored — something the government says would mean an average pay award of about 35%.
