A junior doctor holds a placard in support of fair pay for NHS staff at the BMA (British Medical ... [+]
After almost a year of industrial action, junior doctors in England’s public health system have started mediated talks with the government.
It’s hoped the end is in sight for a series of disputes that have cost billions of pounds and delayed millions of hospital appointments.
Several key groups of staff in the U.K.’s National Health Service have been striking periodically since December 2022. England’s junior doctors started walking out in July 2023.
They are qualified medics and surgeons with up to eight years’ hospital experience and are roughly equivalent to interns and residents in the U.S.
While action from nurses, ambulance staff, senior doctors and other groups has largely come to an end, these doctors walked out in February and voted to continue industrial action for another six months in March.
Previous talks with the government — who decide on pay levels for NHS employees — collapsed in December.
Doctors’ union, the British Medical Association, says an external mediator will facilitate the new round of negotiations, which are expected to last around a month, according to the BBC.
Junior doctor committee co-chairs Robert Laurenson and Vivek Trivedi said in a statement they had been “exploring various avenues” to try and fix “declining junior doctor pay” for more than a year.
“We have been looking at ways of restoring trust between parties and believe that an independent mediator can help break the logjam,” they said in a statement. “We hope to reach a credible solution as soon as possible”
Junior doctors in other parts of the U.K. are involved in their own industrial action. Staff in Wales are currently negotiating with ministers, while those in Northern Ireland are set to walk out for two days next week.
Why are NHS staff striking?
Staff from across the health system have been holding walk-outs for more than 16 months in an effort to secure better pay and working conditions.
They argue their compensation has failed to keep up with inflation, leaving them underpaid during what’s been an extremely pressurized few years for the NHS.
The country’s public health system is battling large waiting lists for planned care and high demand for urgent and emergency care.
A lack of social care capacity is making it hard for hospitals to discharge frail patients, leaving many languishing in inpatient beds. This slows down flow through hospitals, contributing to overcrowding in emergency departments and lengthy handover delays as ambulances wait for space to open up for new patients.
It’s a complex problem with no clear solution — and striking workers warn they’re needed more than ever to keep patients safe in busy hospitals.
Demand for already-overstretched services is expected to grow as the population ages. Unions argue increasing pay is crucial to attract and retain a healthy workforce.
But ministers say their demands are unaffordable. Junior doctors, for example, asked for a pay rise of 35%. They say this will help compensate for years of below-inflation salary growth.
Last year, the government gave an average rise of just below 9%, per the BBC.
U.K. health and social care secretary Victoria Atkins said she wants “to pursue all avenues to resolve the dispute with the BMA junior doctors committee.”
“This will ensure they can focus on delivering the highest quality care and help consolidate our recent progress on waiting lists,” she added in a statement.
“I am pleased the BMA have agreed to explore mediation and I am hopeful that it will provide a way forward.”
