Rishi Sunak drew criticism on Wednesday after blaming striking staff for record high NHS waiting lists.
Speaking to LBC, the Prime Minister claimed that the Government was “making progress” on reducing the elective backlog before nurses, doctors and radiographers began a campaign of industrial action.
Strike action by the RCN has since ended but the BMA remains in dispute.
Mr Sunak has made reducing the waiting list one of his key five pledges, though health experts have said that the target is unlikely to be met if strike action continues.
Asked why the waiting list had increased from 7.2 to 7.9 million since he took office, Mr Sunak replied: “If you look at what happened we were actually making progress, we eliminated the number of two-year waiters – people waiting a really long time – and we practically eliminated the number of people waiting one-and-a-half years. We were making progress on bringing the overall numbers down.
“What happened? We had industrial action, we’ve got strikes.
“I’ve taken a very firm but fair point of view, we’ve accepted the recommendations from independent pay review bodies, I’m delighted that the nurses and a million other NHS workers have accepted the Government’s pay offer and they’re working really hard to deliver for patients.
“Unfortunately we still have groups of people who are not doing that and they’re striking – and that is the reason that the waiting lists are going up. It’s as simple as that.”
The backlog in care grew significantly during the Covid-19 pandemic as routine treatment was postponed and resources deployed to the frontline.
NHS figures show the overall elective backlog increased by 420,000 between June 2022 and December, which is before the beginning of industrial action.
However, NHS Providers estimate that 820,000 routine treatments and appointments have been impacted by strikes since.
Mr Sunak’s comments sparked anger among junior doctors during the call-in segment of the show, with one medic telling the PM that the health service is “losing staff because we are undervalued”.
Olivia, a junior doctor from Newcastle, said: “A happy workforce is your responsibility.
“You’re the Prime Minister, you’re the Government, your staff aren’t happy – that’s your fault. And ultimately that’s not good for patients because retaining staff is one of the bedrocks of making sure you have good patient safety.”
She added: “I would say to staff that I’m very grateful and respectful of the incredible job you do, but we all have a shared mission to bring the waiting lists down.”
Junior doctors in the BMA will stage their fifth walkout from 7am on August 11 until August 15 - just nine days after Foundation Year 1 doctors start their first ever NHS jobs on Wednesday August 2.
Consultants will strike on August 24 and 25.
Junior doctors are seeking a 35 per cent pay rise to reverse what they calculate to be a 26 per cent cut in pay since 2008. Consultants have not made a specific pay demand, but have demanded a rise that at least matches inflation.
Ministers in England have refused to enter talks with the BMA while strikes are scheduled, though conciliation service Acas has said that it is “ready and prepared to help” break the deadlock.
