Junior hospital doctors in England began a five-day strike on Thursday, a week before a general election in which the state of the publicly funded National Health Service is a major issue. It follows nearly a dozen similar protests by doctors below specialist, consultant level over the last 18 months. The NHS is grappling with a massive backlog caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
A recent survey suggested that less than a quarter of Britons were satisfied with the NHS, an unprecedented level. As well as delays to operations and starting cancer treatment , the public also face long waits to see a doctor at their local surgery. The doctors have been asking for 35-percent "pay restoration" as a starting position amid a cost-of-living crisis.
They have said they will call off the action if Conservative Prime Minister Rishi Sunak comes to the table with a credible commitment to increase their pay. Shivram Sharma, a junior doctor working in London, told AFP he and his peers were protesting "because we've been in dispute with the government for 20 months..
. and we're yet to be provided a credible offer". He added, "Doctors are tired.
We're frustrated but we're ultimately scared...
We've seen the quality of care in this country decline." Sharma said patients were being short-changed and having to endure longer waiting times for treatment, particularly in accident and emergency, and doctors were leaving the profession. "We need to keep doctors here and stop them from leaving because of t.
