Doctors will be forced to work during strikes

Members of the British Medical Association (BMA) picket outside the University Hospital of Bristol and Weston

Doctors will be forced to work during strikes as part of government plans to address the dangers caused by successive strikes.

Ministers are proposing to introduce «minimum service level» rules, meaning some doctors and nurses will be forced to work during strikes if public safety is at risk.

The plans come amid fears of widespread chaos in the NHS as a result of this week's strikes.

Steve Barclay, the health secretary, said the measures were required in the face of «coordinated and calculated strikes». junior and senior doctors.

Consultants will go on a two-day strike on Tuesday. They will be joined on Wednesday by junior doctors — the first time both groups have gone on strike on the same day — in a scenario that senior NHS bosses have described as a «nightmare».

Both groups will return to action. There will be pickets and strikes again on October 2-4 to coincide with the Tory party conference.

'Ruthless and escalating' action

Writing in The Telegraph, Mr Barclay said: “My first priority in the ongoing strikes is to protect lives and patient health» and warned of the dangers posed by the «relentless and escalating» actions of the British Medical Association (BMA).

He added: “With strikes continuing and intensifying, we will continue to take action to protect patient safety and ensure the health service has the staff it needs to operate safely and effectively.”

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Even during the worst strikes hospitals must still provide basic emergency and emergency care as part of the so-called «Christmas cover-up».

But there are concerns that too many gaps are left unfilled, too much is left to local agreements, and patients are getting worse.

The consultation, launched on Tuesday, is considering extending anti-strike laws and introducing a minimum level of service. tiers that would cover «urgent hospital-based health services» as well as A&E.

Officials said this could cover hospital staff, including nurses and doctors, and would bring the UK into line with countries such as France and Italy, whose services continue to be provided during strikes.

Health service chiefs said NHS patients were at the “highest risk level in living memory” this week. They warned that treatment for cancer patients was increasingly being delayed due to strikes, with some patients having their appointments canceled three times.

In July, a bill was passed on minimum standards for passenger rail services, ambulance services, and fire and rescue services. to ensure the continuity of essential services.

Initially, ministers discussed including doctors and nurses within its scope. But they have abandoned this, meaning that the Strikes (Minimum Service Level) Act does not apply to most hospital services, which rely heavily on a system of «derogations» — agreements between unions and NHS employers about what services will be protected.

As a result, any expansion of legal powers to protect patients during doctors' strikes is unlikely to come into effect until at least early next year.

During the recent strikes, even though agreements have been reached, some were not followed — with particular concern for cancer patients, whose treatment should have been a priority.

According to Freedom of Information, around 30,000 cancer patients have already received treatment. they had delays in admission and treatment.

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NHS leaders are deeply concerned about the security risks ahead. One hospital organization that aims to recruit volunteers to help keep patients fed and hydrated said it was the first time such measures had been taken.

Health chiefs expressed concern Monday that the latest move could jeopardize any hope of ending the strikes.

Saffron Cordery, deputy chief executive of NHS Providers, said the move «risks worsening industrial relations at a time when we need the government and unions to come to the table and negotiate to prevent further escalation and disruption to patient care.» .

She added: “We are in uncharted territory. It's all in the hands of trusts all over the country.»

«Worst Case Scenario»

Health service chiefs have warned of growing «public dissatisfaction» with the strikes as hospitals often fail to tell patients when their surgery or appointment will be rescheduled.

Matthew Taylor, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, said: «The worst-case scenario is with NHS consultants and junior doctors leaving together has become a terrible reality.

“This is likely to be the biggest strike the NHS has ever seen, causing major disruption and exposing patients to the highest levels of risk in living memory.”

The NHS Confederation warned that “many hospitals are regularly having to cancel operations that have already been canceled at least once, and sometimes three times,” adding: “The obvious risk is that some patients' health will deteriorate the longer they have to wait.”

Mr Taylor said the coming «dangerous situation» was being underestimated by the government and would mean the cancellation of a huge number of surgeries and appointments, and called on ministers and the BMA to start negotiations.

«The situation is much worse than before because now We are seeing patients who have already had their surgery canceled due to the strike again having their rescheduled appointments cancelled,” he added.

“Leaders have also already told us that more surgeries are being canceled this time and visits to cancer patients, meaning some of the sickest patients may be hit the hardest.”