Patients ‘dying in waiting rooms’ - London junior doctor

A junior doctor in London has spoken of people ‘dying in waiting rooms’ because pressure on the NHS means patients are not getting adequate care.

It comes as thousands of junior doctors in England begin voting on whether to strike over pay in the latest outbreak of industrial unrest sweeping the country.

Around 45,000 members of the British Medical Association (BMA) are being balloted from today (9 January), with the result due at the end of next month.

The BMA has told the Government if there is a yes vote, junior doctors will begin their action with a 72-hour "full walkout" in March.

Dr Arjan Singh, who has been working as a junior doctor for the past two years, told us: “When you have fewer doctors, for a population that is increasing in size and increasing in the total number of health problems as well – you have a recipe for disaster.”

He added: “We are having patients die in our waiting rooms, become paralysed in our waiting rooms, when they should be going home the next day and living the rest of their lives with their families.

“It’s a heart-breaking as a doctor, when we’ve been trained to such a high level, to be able to provided such a poor, substandard level of care to our patients because of insufficient staff.”

Speaking on Monday, Dr Emma Runswick, deputy chairwoman at the BMA, said the chances of junior doctors striking was "very high" as she urged constructive talks with Health Secretary Steve Barclay.

The BMA has said patients are suffering and exhausted staff are burning out and leaving the NHS and yet the Government "fails to see the crisis in front of it".

Ministers are also accused of ignoring all the evidence to the contrary and preferring to treat the public as "fools" with assurances the NHS has all the resources it needs.

It said the "doctors' pay review body has been constrained by political interference for more than a decade".

It added: "Even after recommendations have been made to increase junior doctors' pay, the Government has completely ignored them and has asked the pay review body to completely exclude junior doctors from its recommendations.

"When even the pay review process - broken as it is - is telling ministers to act, you know something has gone seriously wrong."

Junior doctors will not provide emergency care during any strike, the BMA has said, adding trusts will need to arrange emergency cover to ensure patient safety.

"We will be giving trusts and the Government enough notice to prepare for this. This is to ensure that patients whose appointments are cancelled know well in advance and to ensure that employers can manage their medical rotas appropriately to ensure emergency care is no different to any other day," the BMA said.

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesman said a multi-year pay deal with the BMA is increasing junior doctors' pay by a cumulative 8.2% by March 2023.

"We have also invested an additional £90 million to provide the most experienced junior doctors with higher pay, increase allowances for those working the most frequently at weekends and increase rates of pay for night shifts," he said.

"The Health and Social Care Secretary wants to have an honest conversation with unions - including the BMA - about what is affordable in pay settlements for next year during these challenging times, and has invited them to discuss as soon as possible."