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Telegraph
17 hours ago
- Health
- Telegraph
NHS chief accuses BMA of ‘extortion'
The head of the NHS attacked the British Medical Association (BMA) for demanding 'extortionate pay' amid a strike row. Sir Jim Mackey, the NHS chief executive, criticised the doctors' union in a message to NHS hospital trust leaders. Junior – now resident – doctors have entered the last of a five-day strike that began on Friday. The BMA has rejected 18 emergency requests by NHS hospitals for striking doctors to cross the picket line and help. Hospitals are able to make emergency requests for help to striking doctors – called 'derogations' – to help stop patients coming to harm, such as in emergency departments and cancer care. However, Sir Jim said that of the 18 rejected requests, the BMA would only support half of these 'if extortionate pay rates were offered to striking doctors'. In a message seen by The Telegraph, he said they had worked to 'overhaul the process for patient safety mitigations' with nine requests approved by Sunday night. But he added: 'Unfortunately, despite all requests being made and verified by senior medics, 18 have been rejected by the BMA, with half of those rejections saying the BMA would support only if extortionate pay rates were offered to striking doctors.' He encouraged NHS bosses to keep putting them forward where they were needed. The exemptions are requested by senior NHS medics in exceptional circumstances to protect patient safety and must be agreed on a case-by-case basis by BMA leaders, including chairman, Dr Tom Dolphin. As of Sunday evening, there had been 47 requests for 125 doctors, according to the BMA. Some are pending or were withdrawn. The resident doctors are demanding a 29 per cent pay rise to return them to 2008 levels of pay. They have been awarded a 28.9 per cent pay rise since Labour came into power, including a 5.4 per cent rise for this financial year. Nurses, who are expected to overwhelmingly vote to reject their 3.6 per cent pay rise, could also ballot to take industrial action later this year. One emergency request rejected by the BMA was for a resident doctor to carry out biopsies on men with suspected prostate cancer at Milton Keynes Hospital. The doctor subsequently volunteered to return to work and was praised by Wes Streeting, the Health Secretary, for their 'bravery'. He said it 'ensured these men got the care they deserve'. Of the requests granted by the BMA, one was for a doctor to return to work on a neonatal ward caring for new born babies in Nottingham City Hospital. The BMA said it was launching a separate, related dispute with the Government over 'training bottlenecks'. A survey of 1,053 resident doctors finishing their foundation training found that 52 per cent had not secured a job for next month. After two years of foundation training, resident doctors begin speciality training to become consultants or GPs. The BMA said this year there had been more than 30,000 doctors applying for just 10,000 posts. Dr Ross Nieuwoudt and Dr Melissa Ryan, BMA resident doctors committee co-chairs said:'It's absurd that in a country where the Government says bringing down NHS waiting lists is one of its top priorities, not only is it not prepared to restore doctors' pay, but it also won't provide jobs for doctors ready, willing and capable to progress in their careers. 'Commitments from the Government to address this don't go far enough or are too vague to convince us that they understand the gravity of the situation, so we're making clear that, alongside pay, we are entering a dispute and demanding action so that no UK-trained, capable, doctor is left underemployed in the NHS.' It comes as health workers represented by the trade union, Unite, voted to reject the 3.6 per cent pay award for this financial year. Some 89 per cent rejected the deal, with the union saying it was prepared to take strike action. It represents a range of NHS staff including paramedics, healthcare assistants, and cleaners. Sharon Graham, Unite general secretary, said: 'When it came into power this Government was clear that the NHS was broken. But staff are still leaving in droves and morale is still at an all-time low. The NHS can't be repaired while the Government continues to erode pay and drastically cut NHS budgets.' Health workers in the GMB union have also rejected the pay deal while the Royal College of Nursing is due to announce a ballot of its members this week.
Times
a day ago
- Health
- Times
BMA ‘risking lives' by blocking emergency strike exemptions
The NHS has accused the British Medical Association (BMA) of 'risking patient safety' by refusing emergency requests to allow striking doctors to cross picket lines and return to work. Since a five-day junior doctor strike began on Friday morning, the BMA has rejected 18 requests from NHS hospitals for doctors to break the strike to stop patients coming to harm, including in cancer care. The exemptions, known as 'derogations', are requested by senior NHS medics in exceptional circumstances to protect patient safety, such as if there is a major accident. They have to be agreed on a case-by-case basis by a committee of BMA leaders, including Dr Tom Dolphin, the union's chairman, who specifies whether a doctor can go back to a particular ward. The BMA said that NHS England made 47 derogation requests up until Sunday evening for 125 doctors, but that it had only agreed to nine of these requests. The remaining requests have been refused, withdrawn or are pending. Thousands of resident doctors, formerly known as junior doctors, are out on strike until 7am on Wednesday as they pursue a 29 per cent pay rise. Hospitals were instructed to cancel as few procedures and appointments as they can safely manage, to minimise disruption for patients and prevent harmful delays to routine care, meaning some have kept 96 per cent of appointments running. As part of this tougher approach to the BMA, Jim Mackey, the NHS chief executive, also encouraged hospitals to seek derogations in more circumstances. However, the BMA has said it will not approve the requests if they are for 'non-urgent care' and that the record number of derogation requests reflects a 'dangerous lack of planning' by NHS hospitals. An NHS spokesman said: 'The NHS is continuing to work hard to maintain more services than in previous rounds of industrial action, and early indications show the plan is working with the vast majority of planned care going ahead. 'Derogation requests for resident doctors to work in exceptional circumstances are being made by the most senior clinical teams on the ground, and delays or refusals by the British Medical Association questions their integrity and risks patient safety.' Requests rejected by the BMA include for a resident doctor to carry out biopsies on men with suspected prostate cancer at Milton Keynes Hospital. The doctor subsequently voluntarily decided to break the strike to return to work, and Wes Streeting, the health secretary, praised their 'bravery' and said it 'ensured these men got the care they deserve'. The BMA has granted requests, including for a doctor to return to work on the neonatal ward at Nottingham City Hospital. Three BMA members were also allowed to work an A&E night shift at the Northern General in Sheffield, which the union said was 'due to the failure to train consultants' on a new electronic patient record system. In another case, King's College Hospital in London had a derogation agreed for its radiology department, but the BMA then revoked it and said the hospital had made a 'false submission'. King's said its request was made in good faith. • Dr Melissa Ryan and Dr Ross Nieuwoudt, the BMA's resident doctors committee co-chairs said: 'Patient safety remains our highest priority during strike action. We rely on NHS England to ensure that safety by planning services in line with the levels of staffing available. If a critical event or an emergency occurs, we work with them to make sure staff can be called back into work on a voluntary basis. This agreement — called a national derogations process — is there strictly to be used should a safety-critical, urgent event occur. It is deeply irresponsible for hospitals to use it to facilitate non-urgent care or cover for poor planning on their part. 'Unfortunately, the number of derogation requests during this strike round has greatly exceeded that in previous rounds, far more even than NHSE [NHS England] are publicly acknowledging. We therefore have to question why NHSE has failed to plan properly. So far, we have had to revoke two derogations where it was proven that the hospital had either been misinformed about their own staffing, or had deliberately misled us. 'We need NHS England to be honest about their failure to plan appropriately which has led to Trusts relying on the BMA to bail them out. It is imperative that this does not happen again for any future strike action — which we hope will not be necessary.' • Kemi Badenoch says Tories would ban doctors from going on strike Streeting has thanked staff working to minimise disruption and insisted the country 'will not be held to ransom by the leadership of the BMA'. He added: 'I particularly want to thank resident doctors who didn't take part in these strikes and went into work to help their colleagues and patients. 'I've been on calls with operational leaders and frontline clinicians, and I've been inspired by the stories of what NHS staff are doing to pick up the slack left by striking resident doctors. I've also spoken with patients directly affected by their actions.'
Times
a day ago
- Health
- Times
BMA accused of risking lives by blocking emergency strike exemptions
The NHS has accused the British Medical Association (BMA) of 'risking patient safety' by refusing emergency requests to allow striking doctors to cross picket lines and return to work. Since a five-day junior doctor strike began on Friday morning, the BMA has rejected 18 requests from NHS hospitals for doctors to break the strike to stop patients coming to harm, including in cancer care. The exemptions, known as 'derogations', are requested by senior NHS medics in exceptional circumstances to protect patient safety, such as if there is a major accident. They have to be agreed on a case-by-case basis by a committee of BMA leaders, including Dr Tom Dolphin, the union's chairman, who specifies whether a doctor can go back to a particular ward. The BMA said that NHS England made 47 derogation requests up until Sunday evening for 125 doctors, but that it had only agreed to nine of these requests. The remaining requests have been refused, withdrawn or are pending. Thousands of resident doctors, formerly known as junior doctors, are out on strike until 7am on Wednesday as they pursue a 29 per cent pay rise. Hospitals were instructed to cancel as few procedures and appointments as they can safely manage, to minimise disruption for patients and prevent harmful delays to routine care, meaning some have kept 96 per cent of appointments running. As part of this tougher approach to the BMA, Jim Mackey, the NHS chief executive, also encouraged hospitals to seek derogations in more circumstances. However, the BMA has said it will not approve the requests if they are for 'non-urgent care' and that the record number of derogation requests reflects a 'dangerous lack of planning' by NHS hospitals. An NHS spokesman said: 'The NHS is continuing to work hard to maintain more services than in previous rounds of industrial action, and early indications show the plan is working with the vast majority of planned care going ahead. 'Derogation requests for resident doctors to work in exceptional circumstances are being made by the most senior clinical teams on the ground, and delays or refusals by the British Medical Association questions their integrity and risks patient safety.' Requests rejected by the BMA include for a resident doctor to carry out biopsies on men with suspected prostate cancer at Milton Keynes Hospital. The doctor subsequently voluntarily decided to break the strike to return to work, and Wes Streeting, the health secretary, praised their 'bravery' and said it 'ensured these men got the care they deserve'. The BMA has granted requests, including for a doctor to return to work on the neonatal ward at Nottingham City Hospital. Three BMA members were also allowed to work an A&E night shift at the Northern General in Sheffield, which the union said was 'due to the failure to train consultants' on a new electronic patient record system. In another case, King's College Hospital in London had a derogation agreed for its radiology department, but the BMA then revoked it and said the hospital had made a 'false submission'. King's said its request was made in good faith. • Striking doctor called off picket line to treat 'very sick' babies Dr Melissa Ryan and Dr Ross Nieuwoudt, the BMA's resident doctors committee co-chairs said: 'Patient safety remains our highest priority during strike action. We rely on NHS England to ensure that safety by planning services in line with the levels of staffing available. If a critical event or an emergency occurs, we work with them to make sure staff can be called back into work on a voluntary basis. This agreement — called a national derogations process — is there strictly to be used should a safety-critical, urgent event occur. It is deeply irresponsible for hospitals to use it to facilitate non-urgent care or cover for poor planning on their part. 'Unfortunately, the number of derogation requests during this strike round has greatly exceeded that in previous rounds, far more even than NHSE [NHS England] are publicly acknowledging. We therefore have to question why NHSE has failed to plan properly. So far, we have had to revoke two derogations where it was proven that the hospital had either been misinformed about their own staffing, or had deliberately misled us. 'We need NHS England to be honest about their failure to plan appropriately which has led to Trusts relying on the BMA to bail them out. It is imperative that this does not happen again for any future strike action — which we hope will not be necessary.' • Kemi Badenoch says Tories would ban doctors from going on strike Streeting has thanked staff working to minimise disruption and insisted the country 'will not be held to ransom by the leadership of the BMA'. He added: 'I particularly want to thank resident doctors who didn't take part in these strikes and went into work to help their colleagues and patients. 'I've been on calls with operational leaders and frontline clinicians, and I've been inspired by the stories of what NHS staff are doing to pick up the slack left by striking resident doctors. I've also spoken with patients directly affected by their actions.'
Times
2 days ago
- Health
- Times
Nurses set to reject pay offer as further strike action looms
Nurses will this week overwhelmingly reject their pay deal, raising the prospect that they will join junior doctors on strike. The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) will warn ministers that they must come back to the table over the summer to avoid a formal strike ballot in the autumn and additional unrest that will further set back NHS recovery. However, public support for doctors' strikes appears to be waning, as ministers accuse them of holding the country to ransom and hospitals report fewer staff joining picket lines. Resident doctors, formerly known junior doctors, are in a five-day walkout after rejecting a 5.4 per cent pay rise, which came after a 22 per cent increase last year. Polling for The Times found that 55 per cent of voters oppose the strike, up from 49 per cent earlier this month, while 32 per cent support it, down four points from the second week of July before the walkouts began. Tom Dolphin, the head of the British Medical Association (BMA), insisted that doctors 'don't want to be on strike', but said the walkouts were necessary because doctors were 'undervalued' and were 'leaving the NHS in large numbers'. He said that pay had to be 'enough to recruit and retain the best doctors'. Ministers have refused to reopen pay talks and negotiations on working conditions collapsed in acrimony last week as ministers accused the BMA of acting in bad faith, while the union said the government had failed to make any concrete offers. • NHS patients told to brace for strikes until Christmas and beyond The BMA is holding out for a full return to 2008 levels of pay and Dolphin said salaries 'reflect the responsibility of these doctors' who were making 'life and death decisions'. He said: 'Even nurses who've had a pretty bad time [are] not as badly off as doctors in terms of lost pay.' Nurses, however, are furious that their 3.6 per cent pay rise this year was lower than doctors' increases for the second year in a row. The RCN is holding an indicative vote on the pay award, which closed on Sunday. The vote is understood to show 'overwhelming' rejection of a deal, with turnout likely to be well over the 50 per cent threshold that would be needed for industrial action. The union is due to announce final results later this week with a call for ministers to return to the table. While the BMA is adamant that headline pay must rise, nurses are thought to be more open to talks on wider pay structures. The RCN has repeatedly complained that nurses can remain on the lowest rung of the NHS pay scale for decades and is expected to press ministers for reforms that would allow them to move up the scale as they gain experience. If no progress is made, a formal strike ballot is likely to be launched in the autumn. A spokesman for the union said: 'The results will be announced to our members later this week. As the largest part of the NHS workforce, nursing staff do not feel valued and the government must urgently begin to turn that around.' It came after ambulance and other hospital staff in the GMB Union voted to reject the 3.6 per cent offer last week, with strike action now being considered. The BMA consultants' committee is also holding an indicative vote over a 4 per cent pay deal it described an 'insult' to senior doctors. Dolphin said the vote was 'a testing of the waters to see where people are', but warned: 'We're certainly very aware already, even before we've done this ballot, the consultants are also very much down on their pay [compared with 2008].' He told Sky News he did not recognise reports that doctors were being paid £6,000 a shift to cover for strikes, but said overtime rates were 'whatever they can manage to negotiate with their employer'.
BBC News
5 days ago
- Health
- BBC News
Yorkshire doctors join national five-day strike
Resident doctors, formerly known as junior doctors, across Yorkshire are taking part in a national five-day strike after the government failed to agree a pay deal with their of the British Medical Association (BMA), who work in hospitals across the region, joined others across England in the walkout, which began at 07:00 BST on leader Dr Tom Dolphin said: "We are very sorry that strikes have become necessary."Meanwhile, Health Secretary Wes Streeting said he did not believe the BMA had "engaged with me in good faith" over bids to avert the strike. This year resident doctors are getting an average pay rise of 5.4%, following a 22% increase over the previous two the BMA said wages were still around 20% lower in real terms than in 2008, even after an increase in August. 'My heart is always at work' Speaking from the picket line outside Leeds General Infirmary (LGI), Cristina Costache, who is a paediatrics registrar at LGI and a PhD student, said the walkout had been "a lot better supported than I thought it would be - it's actually really well supported".However, Dr Costache said striking had been a "very difficult decision to make".She said: "I get depressed if I'm not in work. My heart is always at work. "But I also care about my colleagues and my profession, and what we're really feeling is the gaps."There's always a gap on the paediatric registrar rota. We end up having to cover the job of another paediatric registrar, of even two other paediatric registrars."We have fewer people working and lots of people leaving the profession, that's the knock-on effect on the patient eventually."Dr Costache said she left Romania due to the poor health infrastructure and lack of said: "It's really sad to have seen in the last nine years how the NHS is heading that way."Hence I'm a trade unionist because I feel like I want to tell people, please don't do what has happened there." 'A last resort' Dr Stella Chatzieleftheriou, a UK resident doctors committee representative from Sheffield, said she was worried about the "sustainability" of the medical workforce at the current wages."I've seen dozens of colleagues leave the country and relocate to New Zealand and Australia and they don't have any plans to return," she said."The only way to retain the doctors we have already, and hopefully bring some back, is to offer a pay that is close to comparable."Dr Chatzieleftheriou said strike action had been a "last resort".The strike's core, she said, was a "concern for long-term patient safety if we can't keep the workforce we have and bring back doctors that we have lost over the years".She concluded: "Ultimately you need a well-paid, motivated and happy work force."That, in the long term, will improve outcomes for patient care." 'Emergency departments open' In West Yorkshire, hospitals prepared for the strike by altering rotas and, in some cases, postponing Evans, deputy chief executive at the Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS trust, which runs Pinderfields, Pontefract and Dewsbury hospitals, said: "We have only stood down a very small amount of activity, so if you haven't been contacted that planned care will continue."He added: "Emergency departments are still open, so those that need urgent care please do attend where that's required." 'Nothing else will work' A number of people in Sheffield gave their opinion on the strike to the firefighter Darren Higgins, 58, said striking doctors were "doing the right thing".He said: "It's something that they've got to do to get the pay rise that they're after."Nothing else will work. "Being an ex-firefighter for 30 years, I've been involved in strikes, it's the only way that the government will listen."However, he said he thought the rise asked for was too much."I do think what they're asking for is a bit excessive. I think they need to go in with a lower percentage. "I mean 22% over two years is a good raise. But for the job that they do I think it is a fair percentage." 'Patient safety at risk' Psychology student Freya Wallace, 20, said she agreed doctors deserved to be paid said: "I think it's fair that they should get more pay. If that's what they've got to do to get the money that they deserve, then I think that's fair enough."She said: "If it was any other profession, people would have no problem with it."However, she said the strike would "absolutely put patient safety at risk". "But I think people get better treatment when doctors are less overworked and better paid," she said."So I think in the long term it would really benefit patients." 'It's totally wrong' Jan Palmer, 62, from Wakefield, said she had recently been diagnosed with cancer and worried the strike would affect the speed of her described the strike as "totally wrong"."I've just had a conversation with a person who's had a serious motorbike accident," she said."He should have been seen tomorrow and his next appointment now is September."I just don't understand how they can leave people like that."She added: "I've just found out I have breast cancer, I've been seen within four weeks."I've got to have surgery. I'm only hoping now that this won't affect my surgery."And I do feel sorry for them, the nurses as well, but there's only so much we've got in the pot." Streeting said the NHS would face a challenging few days during the doctors' strike as it strived to keep as many services as possible after the walkout began he said it was not possible to eliminate disruption, but it was "being kept to a minimum". Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.
