A junior doctors’ leader behind one of the longest ever NHS strikes has apologised for “undermining” the action by going on holiday while his colleagues are on the picket line.
Dr Rob Laurenson, co-chair of the British Medical Association’s Junior Doctors Committee, took annual leave to attend a family friend’s wedding this week, meaning he will be paid while striking doctors miss out.
In a message to his colleagues, posted online, he wrote: “I can see that you feel undermined and I am really sorry my actions have contributed to that.”
Around 47,000 junior doctors are staging a four-day walkout, demanding a 35 per cent rise to rectify a 26 per cent real-terms cut in their pay since 2008. They argue that the move will help the NHS to recruit and retain junior doctors, and thereby ease pressure on the health service.
Hospital bosses estimate that 350,000 routine operations will have been cancelled during the 96-hour strike, with fewer than half the number of consultants available to cover junior doctors’ shifts than during the previous action.
Negotiations are on hold as doctors and the government wrangle over the conditions under which they will agree to meet. Doctors say they are willing to hold talks via the conciliation service Acas, but minister Chris Philp said they had not made “formal contact”.
“If the Junior Doctors Committee is willing to suspend the strike action, and remove this 35 per cent pay increase as a precondition for talks, then we’re very happy,” he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme. “The door is open to have those talks.”
The British Medical Association (BMA) said last week, in reference to its members’ demand for a 35 per cent pay rise: “We very much expect that an offer will be a starting point in the discussions, rather than the final deal we agree, but until the minister’s office makes that offer and agrees to meet with us, we cannot consider stopping the strike action and starting negotiations.”
Dr Laurenson came under fire on Wednesday when it was revealed that he was missing the walkout.
Former Tory health minister Lord Bethell described him as a “plonker”, while Rishi Sunak said he was “surprised to read” that Dr Laurenson was on holiday.
Tory MP Julian Knight told The Independent: “The junior doctors’ strike is deeply irresponsible and their demands are totally unreasonable. Having orchestrated this disaster for patients and our NHS, for the union leader to then swan off in this manner is adding insult to injury.”
But colleagues rushed to Dr Laurenson’s defence, insisting he was “fulfilling a long-standing commitment”.
Asking colleagues to “forgive” him, Dr Laurenson, 28, said on Thursday: “The thing most important to me is the integrity of the unity of doctors, and that is why I’m at pains to be as transparent as possible and accountable as possible.”
Health service leaders have warned that the strike will be the most disruptive yet, and will have a significant impact on the ability of the NHS to provide care.
The NHS Confederation, which represents NHS trusts, warned on the second day of the action that “with junior doctors making up nearly two-fifths of an already understaffed workforce, NHS leaders are understandably worried about the further impact this walkout will have on their services”.
A majority of the public support the junior doctors’ strike action, with 54 per cent in favour and just 26 opposed, according to polling by Ipsos. Rather than falling away, support for the stoppages has been growing since March.
But health secretary Steve Barclay has dismissed the junior doctors’ demand to have their pay restored as “unrealistic” and says it amounts to a 35 per cent rise.
The government has refused to negotiate with the BMA until the union drops the demand.
