The impact of the longest junior doctors’ strike in history will be felt “for weeks”, London’s most senior nurse warned on Thursday, as medics walked out for second day in a row.
Jane Clegg, chief nurse for the NHS in London, said that appointments and operations that have been cancelled due to industrial action “won’t be rescheduled as soon as we would like” as hospitals battle a surge in winter viruses.
Her warning came a day after junior doctors in the British Medical Association (BMA) began a six-day strike over pay after talks broke down with Health Secretary Victoria Atkins. Ministers have said that no negotiations can take place unless the BMA call off their strike, which will end at 7am on January 9.
Ms Clegg told the Standard that Londoners “would definitely be safe” during the strike after health leaders and charities raised concerns over whether NHS trusts would be able to adequately staff hospitals.
“Unfortunately, we now have a year of experience dealing with industrial action and we are learning from it,” she said.
“These strikes are taking a toll on patients and staff, and we are concerned that people are waiting too long for treatment. We apologise to Londoners whose care have been disrupted.”
She added: “Unfortunately, we will be feeling the impact of this strike for weeks. Appointments that have been cancelled won’t be rescheduled as soon as we would like.”
More than 330,000 inpatient and outpatient appointments have been rescheduled in London across a year of industrial action in the NHS – the highest figure of any region in England.
Several NHS trusts told the Standard that routine care would be dramatically scaled back during the strikes to focus on protecting emergency services. Consultants will step in to cover for junior doctors, who make up around half of the medical workforce in the NHS.
Patients have been advised to call 999 in a life-threatening emergency, but everyone else should use 111.
David Probert, chief executive of University College London Hospitals, said his teams felt “confident” about covering rota gaps, but added: “We are really anxious and worried about how we are going to look after our patients during this period as the vast majority of routine appointments will have to be cancelled.”
Barts Health NHS Trust, one of the biggest trusts in the country, said it had postponed more than 2,000 operations and 27,000 outpatient appointments during all rounds of strike action in 2023.
Professor Alistair Chesser, group chief medical officer at Barts, told the Standard: “We always reschedule these appointments as soon as possible. However, the uncertainty and delays for patients lead to anxiety and disruption for patients, which we sincerely regret.”
Dr Arjan Singh, chair of the BMA’s North Thames regional junior doctors committee, told the Standard that the strike was the “last chance saloon” for doctors to restore their pay.
“If this strike doesn’t work, you are going to see a lot of doctors wanting to leave the NHS. The strength of feeling is still there even after months of strikes,” he added.
The BMA is seeking a 35% pay rise to correct a real-terms fall in income since 2008, but ministers have branded the demand “unaffordable”.
However, Dr Singh suggested that the BMA and the Government “are not that far apart” – raising hopes that an agreement could be reached between the two sides.
“Ministers know what constitutes a credible offer. Our demand was never to receive a huge pay rise in one go. Our pay has been cut over many years, so we are happy for it to be restored over many years.”
Dr Singh suggested that the Government may be reluctant to offer a multi-year pay deal as their “hands are tied” with a general election expected to take place later this year.
“We need an offer this is credible now for this year that goes towards pay restoration, then we will see what happens after the election.”
Ms Atkins said the strikes would have a “serious impact” on patients and urged the BMA to call off the strikes and return to negotiations.
