NHS bosses in Suffolk say people will be impacted by strike action
members of the BMA are on strike until the 22nd of December
The chief executive of East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust has warned that planned resident doctor strikes in the lead-up to Christmas will be “really disappointing” for patients and families, as hospitals prepare for what is expected to be a difficult winter period.
Resident doctors in England are set to strike from 7 am on 17 December until 7 am on 22 December, following an ongoing dispute with the Government over pay and job security.
"To choose to go out at such a vulnerable time for patients and for their families is really disappointing"
Nick Hulme, chief executive of East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust, said the timing of the industrial action had raised concerns among NHS leaders.
“I think disappointment and a bit of anxiety, actually,” he said. “This is our 14th phase of industrial action from junior or resident doctors, and so in terms of planning and preparation, we’re quite used to it now. But I think to choose to go out at such a vulnerable time for patients and for their families is really disappointing.”
He said winter was already the most pressured period for the NHS, particularly for vulnerable patients, adding that the run-up to Christmas was usually focused on helping people return home to their families.
“Everybody knows that winter is the most challenging time for the NHS, particularly for our most vulnerable in society,” Mr Hulme said. “The period just before Christmas is when we should be really trying to get people home.”
Even small numbers of cancelled appointments could have a significant impact
Despite his concerns, Mr Hulme said his priority was ensuring patient safety and maintaining essential services throughout the strike period.
“My job has to be about planning safe care,” he said. “We need to maintain our 24/7 emergency services, A&E, maternity, the ward cover, diagnostics and our community hospitals.”
He said that during the previous round of strikes, the trust was able to maintain more than 97 per cent of planned activity, but warned that even small numbers of cancelled appointments could have a significant impact.
“Even for the two or three hundred patients we had to cancel, that’s a huge disruption for them and their families,” he said. “People plan operations and outpatients sometimes months, years ahead, and to be told that your operation isn’t going to happen is really upsetting.”
Mr Hulme said strikes in healthcare had a different impact to those in other industries.
“Strikes in healthcare have a direct impact on vulnerable people,” he said. “I absolutely respect people’s right to strike. I’ve been on strike myself. But the decision to take strike action at such a vulnerable time is very, very disappointing for our communities and for our patients.”
He also warned that planning for industrial action was diverting staff time and energy away from frontline pressures, including winter demand and rising flu cases.
“We’re expecting flu to come closer to Christmas, but it’s now come two weeks early,” he said. “What we don’t need are all our senior clinicians and managers working and planning for industrial action. It’s a massive distraction.”
BMA response
The British Medical Association (BMA), which represents resident doctors, said the strikes were the result of continued failures by the Government to address pay erosion and job shortages.
Dr Jack Fletcher, chair of the BMA’s resident doctors committee, said:
“With the Government failing to put forward a credible plan to fix the jobs crisis for resident doctors at the same time as pushing a real-terms pay cut for them, we have no choice but to announce more strike dates.”
He said action could still be avoided if the Government engaged with the profession.
“Gradually raising pay over a few years and some common-sense fixes to the job security of our doctors are well within the reach of this Government,” Dr Fletcher said.
According to the BMA, thousands of doctors have recently been unable to secure training posts, despite meeting increasingly demanding criteria.
Mr Hulme said the ongoing dispute came at a time when the NHS remained under significant strain.
“The NHS is vulnerable at the moment,” he said. “We’re still struggling with waiting times, despite the investment that’s gone in. What we need to recognise is the vulnerability of health services at the moment, and almost the vulnerability of the NHS as a concept.”