Daily Insight: The three-day threat

Escalating tensions over pay will continue into the new year as junior doctors across England will begin a 72-hour walkout if a ballot on industrial action is successful.

The British Medical Association has informed ministers of their intentions ahead of the ballot opening on 9 January.

It follows widespread dismay from NHS staff over the government’s latest pay award, which excluded junior doctors as their current contract is subject to a multi-year pay deal.

The union claims junior doctors have seen a 26 per cent decline in their pay over the past 15 years as it calls for a reverse to more than a decade of real-terms pay cuts.

Although the government has confirmed it will bring forward new strike lews to “deliver minimum safety levels,” the threat of fresh strikes will be an increasing headache for ministers.

This comes at a time when senior leaders fear the second wave of strikes set to take place this month could have a more significant impact than before.

Some union officials have publicly expressed a desire to “meet halfway” on demands, but given the government’s firm stance, it is difficult to see a resolution to the ongoing industrial action any time soon.

‘Dreadful and inconceivable’

HSJ has obtained a letter sent by accident and emergency consultants to trust executives at the Royal Liverpool Hospital, saying they are ashamed of the “dreadful conditions” in a “chaotic” new emergency department. 

The letter was signed by 31 medics including Hon-Wing Shek, clinical director for acute and emergency care, and Junaid Rathore, the department’s clinical lead.

The recent move to a site with a smaller bed base “without any workable contingency plans, [was] frankly inconceivable”, they said.

Senior sources at the hospital said that trust executives have made various changes since receiving the letter, but that there had been no significant improvement in conditions or sentiment among the doctors. They suggested the letter had been leaked to HSJ due to frustration at the ongoing problems.

There have been continued reports of operational problems at the hospital over the Christmas period, although this has been replicated elsewhere in Merseyside and many parts of the country.

The letter, dated 8 November, described the new emergency department as “overcrowded, chaotic and unpleasant”, adding the “reliance on corridor care is unacceptable and unsafe”.