UK junior doctors strike having serious consequences for patients

The UK Health Secretary says the NHS cannot be switched on and off during strikes as junior doctors in England sustain the longest walkout in the service’s history. The government claim industrial action is having serious consequences for patients, but the British Medical Association union says they would stop the walkouts with a decent pay offer. “If the government came to us today with that offer, we could cancel these strikes and never need to strike again, but, unfortunately, that offer has not been forthcoming,” The British Medical Association’s Dr Vivek Trivedi said. Between Christmas and New Year's Eve, 33 per cent of ambulances took more than 30 minutes to respond to emergency calls. However, that is better than during the same period the year before, when it was nearly 40 per cent. One of the reasons is the drop this winter due to so-called bed blockers – patients who are well enough to leave the hospital, but with nowhere to go.