Despite pressure from ministers, doctors strike
pharmafile | June 21, 2012 | News story | Sales and Marketing | Andrew Lansley, BMA, doctors, strike
The British Medical Association is going ahead with its planned strike today, despite a last ditch effort from ministers to stop the industrial action.
The doctors are striking over changes to their pensions, which will see them pay a higher percentage into their pension pots compared to other civil servants.
Health secretary Andrew Lansley used his speech at the NHS Confederation yesterday to warn doctors from striking, saying it would put patient care at risk.
Lansley said: “I want to call on doctors to think again before taking part in a strike that will inevitably damage the services for patients.
“The strike is pointless. It will achieve nothing. We will implement this deal, which is a fair and sustainable deal for NHS workers.
“All the BMA is doing is creating uncertainty, discomfort and difficulty for patients, most of whom could only dream of getting a pension like theirs. Even at this late stage, I would call on all doctors to think again, do the right thing and ditch the strike.”
But doctors’ union the BMA, which balloted for the strike, has said it will still go ahead today.
Doctors who have opted to strike will still be at work, but will only take emergency cases, or if patients are feeling unwell.
But they will not take on minor cases and some have cancelled elective procedures and out-patient appointments.
Not all doctors will be striking, however, and an investigation by Pulse, a GP magazine, has found that only one in four GP practices have committed to taking part in industrial action.
The affect for patients will vary from region to region, but whatever the numbers, today’s events are still bad for the government.
This strike is the first for doctors in 40 years, and comes at a time when the government has put GPs and hospital doctors in charge of commissioning services for the NHS.
This makes industrial action particularly embarrassing for Lansley, who has put much faith into these doctors to run the health service from next year.
It also serves to further sour the relationship between government and doctors, who have been fighting tooth and nail over the government’s health reforms for the past 18 months.
Ben Adams
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