NHS leaders said the service expects “major disruption” as a result of the hot weather and junior doctors’ strike.
Yellow heat health warnings are in place in many parts of the country until 5pm on Thursday, when doctors put down their tools and pick up their posters.
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It will be the eleventh walkout by British Medical Association (BMA) junior doctors in England as the bitter dispute over pay continues.
Although the weather will cool slightly during the five-day industrial action, NHS bosses say the current heatwave has already put pressure on the service.
And concerns have been raised about the impact the strike will have on hospitals affected by a cyber attack earlier this month.
The main Guys’, St Thomas’ and King’s hospitals in London are still operating at reduced capacity following the incident, which saw Russian hackers publish patient names, dates of birth and blood test data.
But the BMA announced that some junior doctors would be allowed to work in hospitals during strikes to “avoid dangerous delays in cancer treatment”.
Posting on X, formerly Twitter, it said: “To avoid dangerous delays in cancer treatment, we are granting a derogation for surgical registrars working on high-risk upper gastrointestinal, head and neck and lung cancers at three hospitals: Lewisham and Greenwich , Guys & St Thomas’ and King’s College Hospital.
“This will help patients who have experienced dangerous delays in care due to difficulties mitigating against unplanned and malicious cyberattacks.
“We thank NHS England for communicating their concerns to us in the interests of patient safety.
“The derogation only applies to surgical registrars in upper GI, head and neck and lung cancer services across the three listed trusts.
“All other junior doctors, including in these trusts, can and should still go on strike.”
Asked about the impact of the cyber attack and the weather, BMA board chair Professor Philip Banfield said: “When junior doctors go on strike, it doesn’t empty the hospital of doctors, you provide again what junior doctors are working with more experienced doctors.
“Then you have our SAS colleagues, consultants, so there is a more senior workforce in place, those gaps are not exactly what you would expect.
“The cyber attack, they [the hospitals] they’re not able to do that much elective work anyway – that’s over a six-week period.
“So if you put a strike on it, they already have a mechanism to do the work they can do.
“In any heat wave warning, if you end up going to the emergency room because of the heat, you will be treated as you would on any normal day, you don’t end up bringing in a lot of doctors all of a sudden.
“If there are [hospital] discover that there are a set of incidents that require doctors to return to work, so junior doctors will return to work.
“So, for example, if something big happened at an event like Glastonbury and it ended up with tons of people being admitted to hospital, what does NHS England do?
“He comes and tells us what the situation is, and we say ‘Fair enough, you need two people to get back’.”
‘DANGEROUS DELAYS’
Regarding the call for some doctors to continue working during the shutdown, Prof Banfield added: “Safe patient care has always been a priority for the BMA during rounds of industrial action; ensured by giving trusts plenty of notice of planned strikes, so that more experienced doctors offer coverage during periods of strike.
“That’s why we have agreed with NHS England that a limited number of doctors will be able to work at six sites in London, where the recent cyber attack has hampered access to life-saving surgery.
“Doctors at Lewisham and Greenwich Hospitals, Guy’s and St Thomas and King’s College Trusts will care for patients who have suffered potentially dangerous delays in their care due to this malicious attack.
“NHS England has raised concerns with us about the safety of patients in these hospitals and we are pleased that we have been able to reach an agreement that means this group of patients will no longer suffer delays during the strike.”
Earlier this week, the charity Age UK urged people to look out for older friends and neighbors, saying certain medical conditions could be worsened during a heatwave.
NHS England said it expected the strike to cause “widespread disruption to routine care and difficulties in discharging patients” despite extensive preparations.
Junior doctors make up half the medical workforce and their latest strike in February led to the cancellation of 91,048 appointments, procedures and operations.
Similar, if not higher, numbers are expected this time.
The strike begins at 9am on June 27th and ends on July 2nd, just two days before voters go to the polls.
The cumulative effect for patients, staff and the NHS as a whole is huge
Professor Sir Stephen Powis
NHS England national medical director Professor Sir Stephen Powis said: “This new round of strike action will again hit the NHS very hard, with almost all routine care likely to be affected and services under significant pressure.
“Although warmer weather may lead to additional pressure on services, at a time when demand for services is already high.
“As always, we are working to ensure that urgent and emergency care is prioritized for patients, but there is no doubt that it is becoming increasingly difficult to get routine services back on track following strikes, and the effect cumulative burden for patients, staff and the NHS as a whole is huge.
“People should continue to use 999 for life-threatening emergencies and NHS 111 – on the NHS app, online or over the phone – for other health problems.
“GP and pharmacy services are also available to patients and can be accessed in the normal way, and patients who have not been contacted or informed that their planned appointment has been postponed are also encouraged to attend as normal.”
Junior doctors have said they will call off their strike if Prime Minister Rishi Sunak makes a credible commitment to restore their pay.
The BMA said junior doctors’ salaries have been reduced by more than a quarter since 2008.
How much do junior doctors earn?
The remuneration received by junior doctors depends on experience.
In 2023/24, the basic annual salary for a first year junior doctor in England is £32,397.
This comes after the government also announced a pay rise for junior doctors of 6% plus £1,250 each.
This amount began to be paid in autumn 2023, with a retroactive date to April.
This equates to a basic salary of £15.53 per hour for most junior doctors.
However, the average junior doctor is not in their first year and therefore earns much more than the basic salary.
According to NHS Digital workforce and earnings data, the average full-time junior doctor in September 2023 earned a base salary of £44,5000.
This value also does not include any extra income from overtime work.
A doctor starting specialist training will earn between R$40,257 and R$53,398 per year.
The average salary is around £50,000 per year.
If you are a specialist doctor, you will earn a base salary of R$83,945 to R$92,275.
Matthew Taylor, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, said: “While we fully understand junior doctors’ genuine complaints about their pay, conditions and training, NHS leaders will still be frustrated to once again join the picket lines.
“Striking in the middle of an election campaign, when no political party is in a position to end the dispute, is a tough pill to swallow for staff who have to fill the gaps and for patients who will have their appointments canceled or postponed.
“The BMA must also explain what concessions will be made to organizations and patients affected by recent serious cyber attacks.
“With both main parties committing to restart negotiations immediately after the formation of a new government, there is no reason for these strikes to go forward.
“We urge the BMA to await the formation of a new government and try to find a compromise.”
Age UK charity director Caroline Abrahams said: “We are concerned about the risk strikes pose to the health of older people.
“We know that the NHS is under considerable pressure and that older people really value the care and support they receive from their doctors, but the ongoing industrial action is simply unsustainable for both NHS services and patients.
“The elderly should not suffer pain, as appointments and operations are canceled or postponed again and possible illnesses go unnoticed.
“Every strike represents a potential risk for patients, of which the elderly constitute the largest group.
“There needs to be a deal and we urge the next government to make this a priority from day one – in the meantime we urge junior doctors to call off the strike and hang in there until then.”
Around 1.5 million appointments have been postponed since the current wave of industrial action began in the NHS in England in December 2022, which has included strikes by junior doctors, consultants, paramedics, physiotherapists and other groups of staff
The strikes are estimated to have cost the NHS around £3 billion.
This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
