Streeting 'deeply regrets' doctors' strike as five-day walkout begins

Health Secretary Wes Streeting has said he "deeply regrets" the impact a five-day doctors' strike will have on patients in England in the run-up to Christmas.

He said the situation in some hospitals was already "dicey" and he was concerned about the effect on other medical staff who would be "knackered as a result" of industrial action.

The latest walkout by resident doctors, the new name for junior doctors, began at 07:00 on Wednesday - they are asking for a long-term plan to increase pay plus a guarantee of new specialty training places.

NHS bosses saying they will struggle to keep some pre-booked services going amid rising cases of flu and other winter illnesses.

Representatives of the doctors' union, the British Medical Association (BMA), said they would work with NHS bosses to ensure safety in hospitals and other parts of the health service.

This is the 14th walkout by resident doctors in a long-running pay dispute. The strike is being held after the government and the union held last-minute talks on Tuesday.

The meeting was described as "constructive" by the government, but not enough progress had been made to call off the strike.

Resident doctors represent nearly half of the doctors working in the NHS. They are walking out of both emergency and non-urgent care with senior doctors drafted in to provide cover.

Speaking from a picket line outside St Thomas' Hospital in London, BMA resident doctor leader Dr Jack Fletcher said that "we're here yet again, on a picket line, because we have not yet reached a credible deal to fix this absurd jobs crisis".

"What we're not asking for is a huge stonking pay rise in one go," Dr Fletcher told BBC's Today programme.

"No-one has ever asked for anything double digit overnight. What we're asking for is to stop these real-time pay cuts that the government are recommending for doctors."

Asked about recent polling that suggests public support for the strikes is declining, he said: "I do care what my patients think but I didn't sign up to give that care in a corridor."

Around 50 medics are protesting outside the London hospital, and more at hospitals around the country including Leeds and Newcastle. They say they are determined to keep fighting for more pay and more jobs.

Dr Krunthika Ramamurthi, who was trained as a doctor in India and has been working in the UK for five years, said she has not been able to obtain a speciality training post, which doctors can apply for after the first two years of training.

Instead, she has been forced to work as a locum and work short-term posts that do not count towards her training.

"It is really difficult. I am not progressing in my career – it is clear there is a shortage of jobs. I don't want to strike, but the government is not addressing our concerns – pay is still below the 2008 levels," she said.

"If the NHS is crumbling because of the flu cases that tells you everything really – the NHS needs to be better resourced."

In the two most recent strikes – in July and November – NHS England said it was able to keep the majority of non-urgent operations and treatments, such as hip and knee replacements, going.

Speaking in parliament on Wednesday morning, Streeting said there was no sign of a breakthrough after five hours of talks with BMA representatives yesterday.

"I think on jobs, [we are] broadly in agreement, [but] on pay [we are] too far apart," he said.

"These strikes will come at a cost of £250m and impact on operational pressures, on patients and on the whole NHS workforce, and I deeply regret we are in this situation."

Concern has been expressed that hospitals may struggle to discharge patients in time for Christmas as the doctors who are working concentrate on providing strike cover.

Medical director Prof Meghana Pandit said the strikes came "at an immensely challenging time for the NHS", with record numbers of patients in hospital with flu for this time of year.

She said more patients were likely to feel the impact of this round of strikes than the previous two, adding that staff who are covering for those striking would not get a Christmas break with their families.

NHS England said GP practices will continue to be open and urgent and emergency care services will be available for those who need them.

But even then there is likely to be some disruption. Cheltenham General Hospital's emergency department is closing for emergencies during the strike - it will remain open for minor injuries - with patients advised to use nearby Gloucestershire Royal Hospital.

NHS England said the public should use 111 online as the first port of call for urgent, but not life-threatening issues during the strike.

Patients who need emergency medical care should continue to use 999 or come forward to A&E as normal, it added.

The strike is going ahead despite a new offer from the government being made last week, which included increasing the number of speciality training posts and covering out-of-pocket expenses like exam fees.

Daniel Elkeles, chief executive of NHS Providers, which represents hospital and ambulance services, said the strikes are "like having the worst possible Groundhog Day".

"But unlike the film this is real, so thousands of patients are going to have their operations and procedures postponed or cancelled," he told BBC Breakfast.

He added that the "increasingly acrimonious dispute" feels like it's as "far away from being resolved as it ever has been".

However, he added that patients will still be safe in hospital and that people should attend appointments unless informed otherwise.

The specialty training jobs, which resident doctors start in year three of their training after completing medical school, have become highly competitive.

This year 30,000 applicants went for 10,000 jobs – although some of the applicants were doctors from abroad.

On Monday the BMA announced its members had voted to continue with the strike – effectively rejecting the offer in the process – after the union agreed to hold an online poll of members.

Streeting has maintained he will not discuss pay as doctors have received pay rises totalling nearly 30% over the past three years.

The BMA argues that, despite the pay rises, resident doctors' pay is still a fifth lower than it was in 2008, once inflation is taken into account.

But it said it was committed to ensuring patient safety.

"We will be in close contact with NHS England throughout the strikes to address safety concerns if they arise," the union added.