'It's sad it has come to this': Almost half the medical workforce on strike, more than a quarter-of-a-million patients postponed
11.04.2023 - 19:01
/ manchestereveningnews.co.uk
"It's sad it has come to this. I would much rather be treating patients," one doctor admits as he stands on the picket line outside the Manchester Royal Infirmary.
"I work in trauma and orthopaedic surgery, I would much rather be seeing patients in the clinic, helping with operations, but unfortunately, we have been driven to be here, as a last resort, by the government," he says.
Mike Greenalgh, 33, is just one of more than 80,000 junior doctors in the NHS, which make up almost half of the health service's medical workforce. Among that figure are 60,000 doctors eligible to strike, many of whom were lining pickets across the country's major hospitals this morning.
READ MORE: All Greater Manchester hospitals with strikes this week as doctors stage industrial action of 'unparalleled disruption'
Today, April 11, saw the first day of a 92-hour period of industrial action, which has left NHS leaders fearing for the fate of the NHS - and that patients might be left in danger.
The strikes follow a long bank holiday weekend, after which there is typically be a spike in demand on an already stretched service; consultants have been drafted in to cover their juniors but are in short supply, with many having annual leave arranged over the spring half-term period; emergency care has to be prioritised meaning more than a quarter-of-a-million appointments and procedures will be likely be postponed on top of a colossal pandemic backlog.
The picture is bleak - and it has prompted NHS leaders to loudly voice their concerns, calling this week an 'unparalleled' level of disruption.
Unions have said there are plans in place if doctors have to be pulled off the picket lines and put back to work, as under trade union laws life-and-limb