NHS bigwig tells hospitals to ignore junior doctors’ strike — what could possibly go wrong?

NHS resident doctors are set to walk out on strike tomorrow to protest against dwindling pay and a lack of trainee posts. The planned industrial action, organised by the British Medical Association (BMA), will no doubt cause major disruptions given that junior doctors make up over half of the NHS workforce.

During past strikes, there have been instances in which hospitals have liaised and negotiated with unions to determine a safe level of staff cover for critical services. This means that some doctors poised to go on strike might ultimately go into work. Their advocacy for better employment rights does not diminish their top priority: patient wellbeing.

‘You make decisions about safety, not the BMA’

According to a letter seen by the Telegraph, NHS boss James Mackey has urged hospitals to carry on as normal during the strikes. This includes carrying out nearly all previously-planned operations. Mackey reportedly wrote:

Data suggests that this season’s flu will be picking up just as we come out of this latest set of strikes.

It is imperative that we plan our approach very carefully this time round to maintain a strong performance during the period of industrial action and in the weeks that follow. We’re in a marathon, not a sprint.

We’ve been very, very clear we want to have a different approach this time.

You have noticed already we are in a different space compared to where we were last time, much more instructive to the BMA, much more resistant to their demands. Frankly we and you make decisions about safety, not the BMA. do what you do best, make sensible decisions and we’ll stick together.

And again, for the coming strike Mackey has ordered hospitals to remain open:

to the fullest extent possible — with at least 95 per cent of elective activity continuing compared with what would otherwise have been expected.

Risking patient safety

It’s unfortunate that NHS England would once again risk patient safety by instructing trusts to continue the full volume of elective procedures during industrial action.

If trusts genuinely believe they can provide adequate safety cover to maintain elective activity at the level NHS England is demanding, despite significant numbers of staff being absent, that is their decision. However, they must remember that patient safety must always be the priority.

In the last round of action, we received a large number of requests to be exempted from strikes from a handful of trusts who hadn’t planned appropriately despite plenty of warning. This was deeply disappointing from senior managers who should be focusing on safety and not political targets.