A cancer patient told Sky News it is “terrifying” for her health that junior doctors will go on strike again from Thursday.
The NHS expects “major disruption” in the coming days as doctors in England abandon payment amid a yellow health alert heat wave and continued interruption of some services due to a ransomware cyber attack earlier this month.
Main Guys’ and St Thomas’ and King’s hospitals in London are still operating at reduced capacity following the incident.
Cancer survivor Donia Youssef has annual colonoscopies, but her last one was canceled due to previous industrial actions by junior doctors.
Donia, from Grays in Essex, said: “It’s a concern for a mother with two young children and I was on the list. I kept pushing. Anything. It was just more delays. I kept waiting.
“[They said]: ‘There is a delay. I will get back to you. There is a delay, they are overcoming it. We’ll let you know if there are any cancellations.'”
“It’s been months. Nothing. So eventually, as the symptoms are getting worse, I decided to pay.”
Donia was so afraid of her worsening health that she paid for private treatment, a cost she could barely afford. And now, as a cancer survivor, every time there is a new round of attacks she is terrified.
“I’m scared. I can’t [treatment] in the private sector and much of it is very expensive. So yeah, it’s scary. So you’re constantly aware,” she said.
Donia Youssef
Donia added: “I try not to watch the news because it just scares me. But when I see it, I get scared, for myself and, obviously, for others too. this position. That’s what scares me.”
The British Medical Association (BMA), which said junior doctors’ salaries have been cut by more than a quarter since 2008, said some senior junior doctors would be allowed to work in hospitals during strikes to “avoid dangerous delays”. for cancer care“.
The industrial action, which begins at 7am on Thursday and ends at 7am on July 2, is the 11th walkout by junior doctors in the bitter pay dispute.
Hospital do Cara. File photo: AP
Asked about the impact of cyber attack and climate, BMA chairman Professor Philip Banfield said more experienced doctors will cover for their colleagues.
Banfield said: “When junior doctors go on strike, it doesn’t deplete the number of doctors in the hospital. You have our specialist colleagues and specialists (SAS), consultants, then there is a more senior workforce in place, those gaps don’t They’re exactly what you’d expect.”
National Health Service England said it expected the strike to cause “widespread disruptions 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.
Donia Youssef was so afraid of her worsening health that she paid for private treatment
Professor Sir Stephen Powis, national medical director for NHS England, 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.
“Hotter weather could 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 The cumulative impact for patients, staff and the NHS as a whole is huge.”
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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. “
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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.
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