Striking Doctors in England in Dispute With Hospitals Over Requests to Return

January 4th, 7:00 PM EST

By NEWSnet Digital Team

Stethoscope.

MGN via Pexels

LONDON (NEWSnet/AP) — The longest planned strike in the history of Britain's state-funded National Health Service entered its second day Thursday, with doctors in England at odds with hospitals over requests for some to leave the picket line to cover urgent-care needs.

The strike is the ninth organized by doctors in the early stages of their careers in just over a year, amid a pay dispute with the government. Prior to the strike, plans were established for junior doctors to return to work if hospitals get overwhelmed.

British Medical Association, the union that represents the majority of the 75,000 striking doctors, had agreed with NHS managers on a system for so-called derogations, in which junior doctors return to work if there are safety concerns about emergency care. Hospitals are expected to show they have exhausted all other sources of staffing before recalling medics.

On Wednesday, the first day of the strike, hospitals made 20 requests for junior doctors to return ue to patient safety concerns.

BMA Chairman Professor Philip Banfield, in a letter to NHS England Chief Executive Amanda Pritchard, said the refusal of hospitals to provide the necessary data “is fundamentally undermining the derogation process."

In response, the body that represents NHS organizations said form-filling requires time and could undermine patient safety.

During the strike, senior doctors, known as consultants, are providing some of the care that their juniors typically provide. But there isn’t enough of them to fill the gap and NHS managers have said tens of thousands of appointments and operations will be postponed because of the walkout.

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