With the onset of strikes by NHS workers last December, including the radiographers’ strike, more than 800,000 appointments were delayed or cancelled. The Times noted that GPs are considering taking industrial action even though, “Closing surgeries would involve a significant financial cost because the salaries of staff would need to be covered.”ĭespite the sentiment in all sectors of the NHS to fight, the BMA is working overtime to ensure there is no unified offensive of its members who hold a powerful position in society. Eight in ten would support reducing the number of services they provided, meaning GPs could reduce evening or weekend hours.” The Times reported, “Six in ten said they would be willing to take strike action that involved sending urgent patients and those needing a same-day appointment to A&E. ![]() The survey found that more than half were prepared to withdraw routine services for a day, while a third said they would consider closing services for a week. GPs are demanding increased investment for their surgeries, over and above the paltry 2.1 percent annual raise in funding offered by the Conservatives. Last week, Pulse magazine published the results of a survey with 362 General Practitioner (GP) partners finding that many would be prepared to withdraw their labour in order to secure more funding. Research published this month by the Liberal Democrats found that one in six GP appointments over the past year involved waits of two weeks or more. Last year, almost 700,000 people were forced to attend A&Es as they were unable to see a doctor. Compared with 2019, there are 900 fewer fully qualified full-time doctors. While the immediate issue driving industrial action is pay, among the main concerns of health workers is the chronic underfunding of the NHS, hindering doctors’ ability to provide a reliable service. They are opposing a government pay offer which the BMA said was “less than 6% for consultants, once all elements of pay are considered.” This real-terms pay cut is on top of a 26 percent erosion in pay over the last 15 years.Ī further two day “provisional strike” by consultants on August 24-25 was announced by the BMA last week. Doctors provided “Christmas Day levels of cover”, with only emergency care provided. On July 20, more senior consultant doctors in the BMA and the British Dental Association (BDA) held two days of industrial action. Last week, the BMA announced that junior doctors will walk out for a further four days from August 11-15 in a fifth round of industrial action. The junior doctors are also being balloted to extend their mandate for industrial action, as required under anti-strike legislation. The radiographers’ strike followed a five-day stoppage from July 13 by junior doctor doctors in the British Medical Association (BMA) in England, who rejected a six percent plus £1,250 consolidated increase pay offer. The SoR leadership was forced to call the strike after members voted down the Conservative government’s pay imposition. A 10 percent vacancy gap in the workforce has left one million patients waiting for radiography diagnosis and treatment. Falling pay has led to staff shortages as it becomes more difficult to recruit and retain staff. The SoR members oppose the government’s imposition in May of a well-below-inflation 5 percent pay rise (and two one-off payments of a minimum of just £1,655) on one million NHS staff in England on Agenda for Change contracts. According to the Society of Radiographers (SoR), 90 percent of patients attending hospital have some form of investigation administered by a radiographer for acute diagnosis or treatment. ![]() Radiographers are responsible for taking x-rays, ultrasounds, MRI and CT scans. The strike was the first ever in the profession. Strikers represented about a quarter of the radiography workforce in England. On July 25, radiographers held a 48-hour strike at 37 health trusts in England. Workers in critical sectors of the National Health Service (NHS) continue to strike in opposition to long-term de facto pay cuts.
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