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THE NHS IN England is bracing for “the most disruptive industrial action” in its history as junior doctors walk out over pay and working conditions.
The public health service has been hit by waves of strikes in recent months as soaring inflation eats into wages and pandemic backlogs coupled with staff shortages increase workloads.
But the four-day walkout by junior doctors threatens to be the most serious action yet, with national medical director of NHS England Stephen Powis warning it will pile “immense pressures” on the service.
“This is set to be the most disruptive industrial action in NHS history, and the strikes tomorrow will bring immense pressures, coming on the back of a challenged extended bank holiday weekend for staff and services,” he said yesterday.
“Emergency, urgent and critical care will be prioritised but some patients will unfortunately have had their appointments postponed.”
Up to a quarter of a million appointments could be postponed, according to the NHS Confederation, which represents the whole healthcare system in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Family doctors are reported by British media to be closed for appointments for up to a week, as GPs are drafted in to provide cover for junior doctors.
The NHS Confederation’s Matthew Taylor told Sky News the strikes “are going to have a catastrophic impact on the capacity of the NHS”.
The service has been “preparing extensively” for the strikes, said Powis, but added that the task was made “much more difficult” due to the “sheer numbers” of appointments that need to be rescheduled.
The walkout began at 6am and run until the morning of 15 April.
Health Secretary Steve Barclay said “unrealistic” calls for a 35% pay rise had led to a breakdown in talks.
“This demand is widely out of step with pay settlements in other parts of the public sector at a time of considerable economic pressure on our country,” he wrote in the Sunday Telegraph.
“I recognise their hard work and dedication. But it is deeply disappointing that this industrial action has been timed by the British Medical Association (BMA) Junior Doctors Committee to cause maximum disruption to both patients and other NHS staff.”
Mike Greenhalgh, deputy co-chair of the BMA’s Junior Doctors Committee, told BBC One’s Breakfast show on Sunday: “It’s hard to negotiate when only one side is doing it and we’re not getting anything back from the government on that front.
“We’re happy to meet at any time. We would still meet him over the bank holiday weekend before the industrial action next week,” he added.
Junior doctors have up to eight years’ experience working as a hospital doctor and make up around half of all NHS doctors, according to official figures.
The UK has been hit by strikes across broad swathes of the economy, with workers struggling with a cost-of-living crisis caused by double-digit inflation.
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Buy bread,buy bread,for the love of god by breaaad!!
@Dave Walsh: They probably are not able to bake it! Men or women!
@Dave Walsh: I swear to Brennans sliced pan if they shut down half the country due to this so called storm Ill crash my bike into the gates of the Dail. Fair enough the south, wesht and midlands might get a slap, but Leinster? Really?
No need to panic, as Storm Helene won’t hit Dublin. When it does panic stations will begin.
@Ossi Fritsche: So what ! Got a problem with that
@Ossi Fritsche: oh yes it will centre is going straight up the wast coast although looks like the one later in the week will be worse
@Ossi Fritsche: will you cop on ffs
@Ossi Fritsche: we are still dealing with hose pipe ban can’t have rain and floods until ban is lifted
Here we go again !
Calls for schools and shops to be closed probably for a bit of wind .
@rory burns: eh it’s a yellow warning..
@rory burns: eh no , it’s Yellow, for rain.
@Bilbo Baggins: is it gas when someone try’s to be a smart ass and ends up looking like a dope
@Bilbo Baggins: Better than a yellow snow warning for sure
@Bilbo Baggins: I thought it was purple rain.
@Brian Guilfoyle: Never ever eat yellow snow! That’s my warning to you!
To have to beg the government to implement extra homeless beds now instead of what happened last year shows how heartless our pseudo leaders really are
@Diddles Daffy: it does seem more of an article on iccch rather than the weather. It went from heavy rain in Mayo to complaining about homeless (real homeless this time) beds, the cause de l’année for journal clickers.
@Gulliver Foyle:
Oh do keep up Gulliver , the current journal ‘clicker cause’ is that Gemma whatshername is being deliberately ignored by the journal and all media outlets , in a conspiracy to keep her out of the presidency.
@Joan Ryan: Yes. I just assumed Gemma Doherty dropped out and I’m very disappointed that the journal would stoop that low. Nasty.
Is the headline not a bit dramatic? The nation is hardly ‘bracing’ itself!
@Sorcha Ní Shúilleabháin: I secured the wheelie bins against the wall just in case. Does that counting as bracing?
@Rónán O’Suilleabháin: It doesn’t count unless you put a big heavy rock on top of them to stop the lids blowing open.
@Sorcha Ní Shúilleabháin: ‘Bracing’ is the Irish word for foreplay. Foreplay to any event which might create a bit of excitement.
Storm Ali is on its way Wensday,”supposed to be a “BIG ONE”YELLOW WARNING AND “NATION BRACES ITSELF FOR STORM HELENE”which isn’t even a storm anymore anyway,Jesus Christ tall about exaggeration of the highest smh
@Jan O’Sullivan: yip fed up with this sensationalist BS that seems to a regular here now and turning into redtop rag status
@Jan O’Sullivan: Jesus they used to refer to this as a blustery day. Now it’s ahhhhhhhh!!!
No sign of any warnings on the met.ie website. Must be a different Met Eireann so.
I hope RTE rollout Teresa Mannion for the weather forecast warning, she was brilliant when braving the the ferocious conditions of Storm Desmond in Galway as she was warning the citizens of Salthill and surrounding areas ‘not to make unnecessary journeys unless absolutely necessary’
Lads we shouldn’t be “bracing” it but more “embracing” it surely…and Irish Water should be “celebrating” it!!!
Journal – please stop the drama
Flood warning, what about the drought.?
Exactly. Not good enough. 5 hours before it hits they should be able to track where it’s going to land. Last night it was the Irish Sea. Now it’s mayo. Cmon met.ie
Brace yourself guys!
Is “High Intensity” the new way to say “heavy”?
I hope the weather doesn’t advesly effect the ploughing championship which would put a dampner on the farmer’s annual pilgrimage.
Nothing but an average autumn storm
It will hit the weat and nobody cares about that
@helen walsh: i don’t eat weat any more so I’m grand.
@Seriously stunned: I think she meant to say “the West !”
@Nucky: blame the iPad, seriously I am stunned by the assumption, presumably SS’s iPad meant Wheat, hope he chokes on his weat, tell us more about this new crop
@Seriously stunned: ignoramus
“As nation braces itself” .. Clickbait.
Time to prepare, so what’s being done ????
Lads we shouldn’t be “bracing” it but more “embracing” it surely…and Irish Water should be “celebracing” it!!!
I hope the downpour come to Dublin soon and keep at it for about a week . That’s about the amount of rain we need to get rid of this bloody hose pipe ban
Scare mongering?
Remember folks, don’t drink the yellow rain….
Status Yellow – Rainfall warning for Galway and Mayo
On Monday between midday and midnight 25 to 40 mm of rainfall are expected over west Galway and Co. Mayo with a risk of flooding in places
Issued: Sunday 16 September 2018 11:00
Updated: Sunday 16 September 2018 11:00
Valid from Monday 17 September 2018 12:00 to Monday 17 September 2018 23:59
Its the ‘Status Yellow Snow’ you have to worry about..
A fart would be more worrying lol
#prayfordublin
Is that hose pipe ban over with now ? We’ll have too much water now we’ll be hearing next off the government
Come on, these weather warnings are getting out of hand.
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