Junior doctors in Wales are due to embark on their longest ever strike in an ongoing pay dispute with the Welsh government. The British Medical Association (BMA) stated that it had been left with no option where, as doctors’ pay declined, by nearly a third over the last 15 years. The Welsh government maintained it could not afford to raise its 5% offer. Health bosses predict that industrial action will have a “significant” impact on services. The four-day strike is the third this year.l
More than 3,000 BMA members are thought to take part of the strike with thousands of appointments likely to be cancelled. The industrial action begins on Monday at 7:00 GMT and runs until 7:00 on 29 March. During February’s three-day strike, 30% of all appointments (9,102 outpatient appointments) and 32% of all operations (1,090 operations) had to be delayed. Urgent and emergency care will remain available throughout the strike.
Co-chairs of BMA Cymru Wales’ Junior Doctors Committee, Dr Peter Fahey and Dr Oba Babs-Osibodu, said: “Junior doctors are beginning their careers earning £13.65 an hour in Wales… They are providing lifesaving care after training for years and are shouldering up to £100,000 of debt. It is no surprise that we are losing doctors as they search for better pay and conditions elsewhere. Losing our doctors at a time when waiting lists are at record highs will mean patients suffering more than they are already.”
While reappointed by the new first minister last week, health secretary Eluned Morgan stated that the Welsh government’s offer covers the limits of its finances available at the moment, and that it reflected the state of affairs reached with the other health unions for 2019. Consultant and specialist doctors will also go on strike in Wales next month due to an industrial action caused by extreme pressures and unsafe staffing levels. The BMA highlighted “workplace conditions” as the reason
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