LONDON: Doctors in England voted Monday to go ahead with a five-day strike starting this week in the busy Christmas season as a “super flu” outbreak sweeps the country.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer branded the move “irresponsible” and said the doctors had “lost the sympathy” of the public and their colleagues in the state-funded National Health Service (NHS).
So-called resident doctors rejected a new pay offer from the government and will walk out from 7:00 am (0700 GMT) on Wednesday, the British Medical Association (BMA) announced.
The industrial action comes as flu cases in hospitals across England sit at a record level for this time of year.
NHS figures published last Thursday showed that the number of cases jumped 55 percent in a week to an average of 2,660 patients in hospital each day the previous week.
The functioning of the NHS is a major political issue in Britain, with Starmer’s beleaguered Labour government under pressure to bring down waiting times.
The planned strike from Wednesday will be the 14th walkout by medics since March 2023.
Attempts to reduce patient waiting lists have been affected in part by the repeated industrial action by both resident doctors and consultants.
The resident doctors — those below consultant level — are in dispute with the government over pay and a shortage of training opportunities.
The government in 2024 awarded the doctors a 28.9-percent pay rise over the last three years.
But the BMA, which represents resident doctors, is demanding an extra 26 percent it says is needed to achieve pay restoration after years of below-inflation pay deals.
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