Resident doctors began a five-day strike today with uneven turnout across hospitals, leaving some picket lines thin while disruption elsewhere forced widespread cancellations and warnings that the fallout will be felt “into January and beyond.”
Early figures suggest that in some hospitals, as many as three in four resident doctors reported for work, significantly blunting the effect of the walkout. In other areas, however, participation was far higher, with as few as one in five doctors on duty. Health leaders say the uneven response has still caused major disruption, particularly as the NHS grapples with a record “super flu” outbreak and intense winter pressures, according to the BBC.
