South Korea's president, Yoon Suk Yeol, has declared the ongoing walkouts by junior doctors as illegal collective action and has vowed not to tolerate them, threatening to suspend the licenses of about 9,000 medical interns and residents. The doctors are protesting a government plan to increase medical school enrollments, arguing that it would compromise the quality of medical services. The government has warned of legal consequences for the striking doctors, but the Korean Medical Association has expressed support for them. The government's plan to increase medical students aims to address a doctor shortage, but the striking doctors argue that it fails to address issues such as rural healthcare and low-paying specialties.
Junior doctors in England are set to strike for five days from 24 to 28 February in response to an ongoing pay dispute with the government. The British Medical Association (BMA) is advocating for a 35% pay increase, which was previously rejected by ministers. The strike is expected to disrupt or cancel many routine hospital services, and the BMA has stated that the action could still be called off if a "credible offer" is made. This will be the 10th strike by junior doctors since March 2023, and the BMA is also balloting junior doctors on further industrial action beyond this strike.
Junior doctors in England have begun a three-day strike, causing major disruption to the NHS. This is the 26th day of strike action in their ongoing pay dispute. The strike will be followed by a six-day strike in January, the longest in NHS history. Talks between the British Medical Association (BMA) and the government broke down earlier this month. The strikes come at a time when the NHS is already under strain due to winter pressures. Patients are advised to seek medical help as needed, but some A&E services may be closed. The BMA rejected a plea to downgrade the strike to a partial walkout with emergency cover.
The ongoing strikes by junior doctors in the UK have cost the National Health Service (NHS) approximately £1 billion this year alone, according to health bosses. The strikes, which seek a salary increase of 35%, have resulted in the cancellation of over 700,000 NHS appointments since they began seven months ago. The cost includes paying premium rates to consultants to cover for absent junior doctors and the lost income from canceled activities. The strikes come despite a six percent pay rise and a £1,250 lump sum offered by the government, which the British Medical Association (BMA) rejected. The strikes have also exacerbated the backlog of patients awaiting treatment, which now stands at 7.6 million in England.
Tens of thousands of junior doctors in the UK have gone on a four-day strike over pay, causing unprecedented disruption to the National Health Service (NHS). The doctors are striking for pay rises better aligned with inflation, following a three-day strike last month. The NHS Confederation expects up to 350,000 appointments to be cancelled during the strike. The British Medical Association (BMA) wants a 35% pay rise, arguing that members have suffered a 26% real terms cut in pay over 15 years. The BMA has said the strikes could be stopped if health minister Steve Barclay put a credible pay offer forward.
Junior doctors in England are set to stage a four-day strike starting on Tuesday, which is expected to be the most disruptive in the history of the National Health Service (NHS). The British Medical Association (BMA) members in planned and emergency care will walk out, with more than a quarter of a million appointments and operations expected to be cancelled. The union said there were plans to pull doctors off picket lines if lives were in immediate danger. Junior doctors are demanding a 35% increase in pay, to compensate for 15 years of below-inflation wage increases.
The NHS Confederation chief executive, Matthew Taylor, has called for the government and junior doctors' unions to seek help from conciliation service Acas ahead of the four-day strike by junior doctors in England, which is set to be the most disruptive walkout in NHS history. The British Medical Association wants a 35% pay rise to make up for 15 years of below-inflation wage rises, which has caused a recruitment and retention crisis. Potentially 350,000 appointments and operations could be cancelled. Mental health and some GP services will also be affected.
Health Secretary Steve Barclay has criticised the British Medical Association (BMA) for its "unrealistic" pay demands, which he said were "out of step with pay settlements in other parts of the public sector". Junior doctors in England are set to stage a four-day strike from Tuesday, with the BMA calling for a 35% pay rise to make up for 15 years of below-inflation wage rises. Health bosses have estimated that up to a quarter of a million operations and appointments could be postponed as a result of the strike.
Hospital trusts in the UK are taking desperate measures to limit the predicted loss of life from this week’s NHS strikes, including threatening consultants who refuse to do extra work and tempting junior doctors to cross picket lines by increasing locum pay. NHS leaders and senior clinicians fear the four-day walkout by junior doctors will lead to the cancellation of hundreds of thousands of operations and appointments, while putting seriously ill patients at greater risk. Junior doctors are asking for a 35% pay rise to “reverse the steep decline” they have faced after years of below-inflation pay rises.
More than 175,000 patient appointments and procedures were cancelled in England during the 72-hour junior doctors' strike, making it the most disruptive NHS strike this winter. The British Medical Association (BMA) has accepted an offer to enter pay talks with the government, and has said it will not announce new strike action while negotiations are taking place. The BMA is calling for a 35% pay rise for junior doctors, arguing this would reverse 15 years of cuts.
Unions for NHS staff, including nurses and ambulance workers, have recommended their members back a fresh offer of a 5% pay rise from April. The British Medical Association (BMA) and government are not yet in talks to resolve the junior doctors' dispute. The junior doctors' pay dispute is far from resolved with the BMA calling for a 35% pay rise, which it argues will reverse 15 years of cuts. The government made a last-minute offer of formal pay talks last Friday - three days before the walkout. The onus is now on both sides in the doctors' dispute to show willingness to get round the table.
Junior doctors in the UK are striking for four days over pay restoration and better working conditions. Dr Shivam Sharma, a junior doctor from Birmingham, said he had never seen the NHS this bad, with patients being tended to in hospital corridors and an average waiting time of 12 hours. The British Medical Association (BMA) has asked for a pay rise of 35%, but the government has called the demands "completely unaffordable". The BMA claims staff have seen pay cuts of 26% since 2008. An NHS spokesperson said patients should not be put off from seeking emergency care during strike action.
