We don’t want to be here, say striking doctors – as NHS sounds alarm over early flu spike
Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the worldSign up to our free Morning Headlines emailSign up to our free Morning Headlines emailResident doctors have turned out in thousands across England as they begin their five-day strike after a pay dispute with the government.The strike comes as NHS bosses warn that this winter could be the toughest ever for staff over fears a flu outbreak will wreak havoc on the health service.The Independent spoke to Arthur Joustra, a 27-year-old paediatrics trainee from Nottinghamshire, who said he has been driven to the picket line by an urgent need for more staff and a restoration of pay.He said: “No doctor wants to be on strike. I think it always makes me quite anxious when the strikes come up, because the last thing I want to do is not go to work. I love my job, I love helping patients, it’s the reason I’ve dedicated my life to the profession.”Multiple NHS Trusts are reporting that around half of residents are on strike, which is similar to or slightly less than the last strikes, The Independent understands. Health secretary Wes Streeting accused striking doctors of holding patients to “ransom” on Friday. Mr Joustra said it was inevitable there would be delays and cancelled appointments. “The immediate harm that is caused by strikes is to try and prevent that future harm that is only going to get worse as waiting lists get longer,” he added. “It’s not out of malice, it’s not out of greed, it’s for a better outcome for our patients and, ultimately, a better NHS.” open image in gallery‘My colleagues are all going to Australia for better pay,’ says Arthur Joustra (The Independent)Most people Mr Joustra knew in medical school are now out of work or have moved abroad for better conditions. He said. “It’s a crisis that I don’t think anyone really anticipated. When I applied to med school in 2015, the idea of not having a job was unfathomable as a doctor.” Last week, the British Medical Association (BMA) rejected an offer from the government that included provisions for additional speciality training places and the covering of mandatory exam and membership fees.“It’s very difficult to negotiate two problems when one of them has been taken off the table entirely,” Mr Joustra said. “With staff shortages, with a more stretched NHS, longer waiting times, an ageing population, and more burden of disease, the job is only getting harder, yet the pay is not reflecting that. “Anyone can put two and two together, that if we constantly see this erosion of the workforce, erosion of fair pay, it’s only going to go in one direction, which is not going to be a positive one.” The BMA has argued that doctors need a 26 per cent pay uplift to restore their earnings, once inflation is taken into account.open image in galleryWes Streeting accused the BMA of ‘damaging’ the recovery of the NHS (PA)The NHS Confederation and NHS Providers said the continued action was piling pressure on already stretched budgets, with the last strike in July estimated to have cost the health service £300m.Professor Meghana Pandit, NHS England national medical director, said: “It is frustrating and disappointing that we are facing another round of industrial action at a challenging time for the NHS, with flu cases rising earlier than usual and more staff likely to be absent due to illness.” The health secretary blasted doctors on strike on Friday morning, telling LBC radio the action was "completely unnecessary". He said: "On pay, on speciality training places, on improvements to conditions, I have been working to address every single one of those issues."These are not the conditions in which people go out on strike. Strike should be a last resort.” Earlier in the week, Mr Streeting accused the BMA of behaving like a cartel, causing “untold misery and disruption” to patients. Speaking to The Independent, BMA council chair Tom Dolphin said the comments were “not fair at all”. He said: “When we talk about a cartel, we should be looking at the kind of working conditions that the hospitals are making doctors sit through, that's what we should be focusing on.”open image in galleryThe doctors’ strikes in July were estimated to cost NHS Trusts £300m (PA)Mr Dolphin has bemoaned a “job crisis” for resident doctors, saying that thousands of trainees will not be able to continue without more training places becoming available. Despite pay rises in recent years, he said resident doctors were still significantly down compared to 2008. Health secretary Wes Streeting has so far refused to move on the issue of pay, claiming resident doctors have received a pay increase of almost 30 per cent over three years. Mr Dolphin said: “We've had many years of below inflation pay rises or pay cuts impact in real terms over the years, we're still a fifth down on our pay compared to 2008.” While he is certain there will be an agreement, he said last week’s offer didn’t come close enough to solving the problem. “The problem is the secretary of state made it clear he didn't feel he could move any further, and we didn't feel that the offer came close enough to solving the problem.”
