Starmer calls doctors' strike 'dangerous' as five-day walkout begins

"The doctors' union is asking for a long-term plan to increase pay plus a guarantee of new specialty training places, amid what it calls a "jobs crisis". It called for the government to come up with "a genuinely long-term plan" on pay and jobs. NHS bosses say they will struggle to keep some pre-booked services going during the strike, as hospital deal with a surge in flu and other winter illnesses."

"Representatives of the doctors' union, the British Medical Association (BMA), said they would work with NHS bosses to ensure safety in hospitals and other parts of the health service. This is the 14th walkout by resident doctors in a long-running pay dispute. The strike is being held after the government and the union held last-minute talks on Tuesday. The meeting was described as "constructive" by the government, but not enough progress had been made to call off the strike."

"BMA resident doctor leader Dr Jack Fletcher said that "we're here yet again, on a picket line, because we have not yet reached a credible deal to fix this absurd jobs crisis". "What we're not asking for is a huge stonking pay rise in one go," Dr Fletcher told BBC's Today programme. "No-one has ever asked for anything double digit overnight. What we're asking for is to stop these real-time pay cuts that the government are recommending for doctors.""

The five-day strike by resident doctors in England began at 07:00 on Wednesday. The walkout demands a long-term plan to increase pay along with a guarantee of new specialty training places amid a described jobs crisis. NHS leaders expect difficulty maintaining some pre-booked services during the strike because hospitals are dealing with a surge in flu and other winter illnesses. Representatives of the British Medical Association will work with NHS management to ensure safety across services. Resident doctors make up nearly half of NHS doctors and are withdrawing from emergency and non-urgent care, with senior doctors drafted in to provide cover. Last-minute talks were described as constructive but did not prevent the strike.

Read at www.bbc.com