MILITANT union bosses are telling doctors they do NOT have to alert their NHS trust if they are planning to strike – sparking fears for patient safety.
It will make it harder for trusts to plan cover to keep hospitals running.
Junior doctors rally outside Downing Street[/caption]
Health workers protest in 2023[/caption]
Resident doctors, formerly known as junior, are walking out for five days at the end of July as they demand a 29 per cent pay rise.
Dr Ross Nieuwoudt, co-leader of the British Medical Association’s resident doctors committee, accused trusts of trying to “deceive” docs into revealing strike plans.
He blasted a cancer trust which told staff it was a mandatory requirement to report action to their team each day of the strike.
“This is absolutely unacceptable,” he wrote on X. “You do NOT have a legal responsibility to disclose whether you are striking.
“Trusts will attempt to deceive or compel you to tell them. If they do, let a BMA rep know.”
Shadow health secretary Edward Argar warned it was a serious threat to patient safety[/caption]
Legally union members do not have to tell their employer if they are going to strike.
But sources said most resident doctors told their trusts whether they intended to strike – which helped hospitals to secure enough staff to keep running.
One insider said: “It shows they don’t give a damn about patient safety.”
Daniel Elkeles, chief executive of NHS Providers, which represents hospital bosses, said: “Given the huge disruption and impact on patient care caused by strikes it is good practice for staff to make their intentions known.
“That way hospitals plan with the best information so that fewer patients have their care cancelled and that reduces the amount of harm that the strikes will cause.”
Shadow health secretary Edward Argar said: “This is potentially a serious threat to patient safety.
“It’s shocking that we don’t even know how many doctors will walk out, and hospitals are being left in the dark.
“That kind of chaos puts patients and lives at risk. These strikes are irresponsible, unnecessary and wrong.”
One of Britain’s most loved TV doctors Lord Robert Winston resigned from the union this week slamming their “highly dangerous” strikes.
The 84-year-old professor, who pioneered IVF treatments in the UK, quit after more than 60 years as a member of the BMA.
The last round of doctors’ strikes cost the NHS £1.7 billion and led to 1.5 million cancellations.
Health Secretary Wes Streeting told the Commons the average first-year doctor earns £43,275 – “significantly more than the average full-time worker in this country”.
Health Secretary Wes Streeting[/caption]
Junior doctors on the picket line outside Queen Elizabeth Hospital in 2024[/caption]
Some resident doctors on a 40-hour week, including a full “on-call” rota, can earn more than £100,000 a year, according to analysis by the Telegraph.
A BMA spokesperson said: “Doctors intending to take strike action are under no obligation to inform their employers of those intentions. But with nine out of 10 of our members who voted in the ballot, voting in support of strike action, it is reasonable they will participate in the strikes if they are due to be working and trusts should plan accordingly.”
