Routine care across Sussex faces disruption as hospital consultants walkout
The 48-hour strike has been called in an ongoing pay dispute
Last updated 24th Aug 2023
Routine care is likely to be disrupted across Sussex as hospital consultants begin a 48-hour walkout.
Consultants in the British Medical Association (BMA) went on strike from 7am today (24 August), and will remain on strike until 7am on Saturday (26 August).
It's the latest action in an ongoing dispute over pay after the BMA rejected the government's offer of a 6% pay rise as recommended by the independent pay review body.
The union say their members have seen a real-terms pay cut of a third since 2009.
Health Secretary Steve Barclay says the government's pay award is "final", urging the BMA "to call an end to strikes."
But one consultant anaesthetist who's striking said that pay for consultants has fallen by more than any other public sector worker.
Dr Lynne Campbell, who works at the Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton, believes that "despite a decent baseline salary, there's only so far you can go with that before the job starts to become an unattractive prospect."
She added that if she was being paid two-thirds in real terms compared to a decade ago, her workload has actually increased.
Alongside junior doctors leaving for abroad, Dr Campbell fears "the net effect of that is there's less doctors per capita of patients, and there are safety issues."
NHS Sussex say that staff are "preparing for a difficult few days ahead", and that planned appointments and clinics "are likely to be affected."
They're saying people should continue to attend routine appointments unless contacted by the NHS in advance, where they're appointment will be rescheduled.
The county's Chief Medical Officer, Dr Dinesh Sinha, reassured patients that "the local NHS has plans to prioritise patient safety as always, and limit disruption to services."
But Dr Sinha urged the public to "play their part" by only attending A&E for life-threatening emergencies.
The BMA have announced there will be further consultant strikes from 2-4 October if there is no progress in the dispute, alongside strikes previously announced on 19 and 20 September.