Medical doctors in England have on Friday announced the longest strike ever recorded in the state-funded National Health Service (NHS) due to an ongoing dispute over pay.
Junior doctors, referring to those below consultant level, are set to participate in a five-day strike from 7:00 am on July 13 until the same time on July 18, as declared by the British Medical Association.
This strike comes shortly after a 72-hour strike earlier this month, which was organized to protest the government’s refusal to increase their offer of a five-percent pay raise.
Over the past 15 years, doctors claim to have experienced a 26-percent decline in real wages, as their salaries have failed to keep pace with inflation.
While medical professionals are seeking a restoration of pay to 2008-2009 levels, the government argues that such an adjustment would require an average pay increase of approximately 35 percent this year, which it deems unaffordable.
The strike action coincides with the NHS’s 75th anniversary.
Robert Laurenson and Vivek Trivedi, who jointly chair the BMA junior doctors’ committee, said the government seemed intent on letting the NHS “decline to the point of collapse”.
According to the British Medical Association (BMA), a survey revealed that over half (53 percent) of the nearly 2,000 junior doctors who participated had received offers to relocate abroad within the past four months.
The BMA further alleged that the South Australian government had dispatched advertising trucks to picket lines, enticing doctors with better pay if they emigrated.
Laurenson and Trivedi, representatives from the BMA, criticized the government for refusing to reopen discussions on pay, which has led to the decision to stage the longest single walkout by doctors in the history of the NHS.
They stated that the strike could be averted if the government presents a “credible offer” regarding pay restoration.
The series of strikes by doctors, nurses, and other medical staff, primarily driven by below-inflation pay raises and working conditions, has adversely affected patient care. Many appointments have been canceled or rescheduled as a result.
Health officials have acknowledged the disruption caused, particularly as the NHS grapples with a substantial backlog of treatments due to years of under-funding, understaffing, and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The NHS will celebrate its 75th anniversary on July 5. Established in 1948, it is funded through general taxation and aims to provide free healthcare “from the cradle to the grave.”
