Streeting goes full Scrooge over doctors strike

England’s resident doctors have now set their dates to strike this month.

The Resident Doctors Committee (RDC) at the British Medical Association (BMA) has confirmed that its members will hit the picket lines before Christmas.

Of course, the union has also urged the government to “get a grip” and avert the strike. They want health secretary Wes Streeting to return to the negotiating table with a serious offer on pay restoration.

However, if that doesn’t happen, the new round of industrial action will consist of full walk-outs from 7am on 17 December until the same time on 22 December.

‘Some common-sense fixes’

Dr Jack Fletcher, co-chair of the RDC, stated that doctors would far rather treat patients than stand out on the picket lines. However, the continued refusal to address resident doctors’ concerns has left them no option.

Dr Fletcher stated:

With neither a credible plan to fix the jobs’ crisis for resident doctors nor address their pay erosion coming from Government, we have no choice but to announce more strike dates.

‘However, these do not need to go ahead. Gradually raising pay over a few years and some common-sense fixes to the job security of our doctors are well within the reach of this Government.

‘It would ensure both the long-term strength of our healthcare workforce and spare the country the indignity of seeing unemployed doctors at a time patients are queuing up to even see a GP.’

Residents already walked out for 5 days in November, prior to this new announcement. And, on 25 November, the RDC wrote to NHS England chief executive Jim Mackey, making clear just how ridiculous it is that so many residents are struggling to find a job in the UK.

The committee warned that thousands of foundation year 2 candidates hadn’t been able to secure interviews, despite seeking training posts in internal medicine. This was because they were put in competition with more-experienced doctors — who themselves hadn’t been able to secure training because of the country’s massive backlog in available placements.

Dr Fletcher said:

This month we’ve seen the full farcical extent of the jobs crisis, with new doctors applying for basic training posts being asked to provide evidence of experience well beyond what would have previously been asked of advanced specialists.

It is precisely this sort of situation which is driving doctors to the picket line. But it is not too late for Government to get a grip on the situation.

‘Maximum disruption’

The RDC’s mandate for industrial action will expire in January. However, it has already announced that it will again ballot residents on extending the right to strike. The ballot will open on 8 December and run until 2 February. If successful, it would give the BMA a powerful strike mandate lasting until August 2026.

Faced with a fresh strike, health secretary Streeting has doubled down on his usual tactic of trying to paint the BMA as the enemy. In a festive twist, the manipulative little toe-rag went with a Grinch comparison this time:

The BMA have clearly chosen to strike when it will cause maximum disruption, causing untold anxiety. Patients and NHS staff deserve better than this cynical attempt to wreck Christmas.After a 28.9 per cent pay rise, the Government offered to create more jobs and put money back in resident doctors’ pockets. The BMA rejected it out of hand, refused to put the offer to its members, blocking a better deal for doctors.

Now, without a single conversation with the Government, they’re threatening more strikes at the busiest time of the year.

 Streeting also told residents “to stand up to the BMA and say that enough is enough”, as if it wasn’t the residents who voted to strike in the first place. If someone could also explain to the health secretary how a democracy works, that would be great. He went on to say:

 Resident doctors should ignore the BMA’s attempts to turn them into the Grinch who stole Christmas.

 My door has always been open, I have never walked away from the table, and I stand ready to do a deal that puts patients first this Christmas.

As a reminder, Streeting has already been told that his plan to create new training places is far too slow to match demand. Likewise, his last no-pay-rise offer was a bald-faced insult to NHS doctors.

 His tactic of painting residents and their union as the enemy will not work. We see him, and we see the offers he’s putting on the table. Sure, his door is always open — it’s just that nobody wants to sit at his table and have him spit in their face.

Featured image via the Canary