Hospitals will be left unable to function normally if consultants - the most senior doctors - stage walkouts in pursuit of their pay claim, said Sir Julian Hartley.
"If consultants withdraw their labour, as junior doctors are doing again this week, that would be unthinkable without considerable derogations," said Hartley, the chief executive of NHS Providers. "It would be incredibly difficult to run a hospital and other critical services." Hospitals have already had to postpone more than 500,000 outpatient appointments and operations as a result of industrial action by nurses, junior doctors, ambulance workers and other staff. With junior doctors threatening to continue striking until next March, NHS chiefs are alarmed that consultants could add to the chaos engulfing the service.
The British Medical Association (BMA) is balloting consultants over whether they are prepared to go on strike to try to force ministers to restore the 35% fall in the value of their salaries since 2008. Consultants are threatening to join the wave of strikes that has hit NHS care since December over what they say is years of real-term pay cuts.
The ballot closes on 27 June and the result is expected soon after. If enough consultants back walkouts to ensure any strike is legal, they will refuse to work on 20 and 21 July and reduce the NHS to a Christmas Daystyle service in that period. While emergency care such as A&E would continue, most planned work-outpatient appointments and surgery - would be called off.
この記事は The Guardian の June 17, 2023 版に掲載されています。
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この記事は The Guardian の June 17, 2023 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
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