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Doctors at hospitals in England begin a new 72-hour strike over pay on Wednesday, prompting warnings from health officials of huge disruption to patients and healthcare services.
The latest walk-out by junior doctors – those below consultant level – starts at 7 a.m. and is set to last until Saturday.
The Junior Doctors Committee of the British Medical Association (BMA) says medics have seen a 26-percent pay cut in real terms in the last 15 years as salaries have failed to keep pace with soaring inflation.
They want pay restored to 2008-2009 levels but the government says that would mean an average pay award of about 35 percent this year, which is too costly.
It is the latest strike in the state-funded National Health Service, which has also seen nurses and other medical staff picket for more pay.
A similar walk-out in April saw 196,000 hospital appointments and operations rescheduled.
A record 7 million people were waiting for treatment in April, with nearly 3 million waiting more than 18 months, according to the BMA.
The length of time for patients waiting for their first appointments and treatment for cancer was also getting worse, it added.
Health Secretary Steve Barclay called the strikes "extremely disappointing" and said it put patients and work to cut waiting lists at risk.
(With input from AFP)
(Cover: Entrance to Huddersfield Royal Infirmary as junior doctors take part in a second day of industrial action in Huddersfield, England, April 12, 2023. /CFP)
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Disinformation report hotline: 010-85061466