THIS weekend’s doctors’ strike is irresponsible and dangerous, warns Health Secretary Victoria Atkins. Junior doctors in the British Medical Association will down tools from 7am today, Thursday, until 7am next Tuesday. NHS chiefs have warned of " major disruption " and say patients will be at extra risk because of the heatwave.
Health Secretary Ms Atkins told The Sun’s Never Mind the Ballots she is “very, very angry” at the BMA’s cynical move to walk out while ministers cannot negotiate due to the election. She said: “I do not understand how the junior doctors’ committee thinks it is responsible to call strikes at this time when they know full well the harm that it presents to patients. “It feels very wrong.
” This weekend’s strike is the 11th by junior doctors since March 2023 and will take the total number of work days lost to 44. More than 1.4million appointments have been cancelled or postponed.
Experts say it is not the only reason the NHS backlog is stagnant but it is holding back efforts to shrink waiting lists. Ms Atkins said people are "dismayed" with the timing of the latest strike in the general election period. She declined to brand the walkout political, but has done so in the past, and added that Labour will struggle to strike a deal with the junior doctors if they come into power next week.
The medics' demands in the dispute amount to a pay rise of 35 per cent or more. The BMA keep walking out of the room The Health Secretary added: "It mak.
