Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Junior doctors will go on fresh strikes

The British Medical Association (BMA) said junior doctors would walk out from 0700 GMT on December 20 until 0700 GMT on December 23

Junior doctors will go on fresh strikes

JUNIOR doctors in England will take further strike action later this month and in January, their trade union said on Tuesday (5), after weeks of talks with the government failed to end a long-running dispute over pay.

The British Medical Association (BMA), which represents nearly 200,000 doctors in Britain, said junior doctors would walk out from 0700 GMT on December 20 until 0700 GMT on December 23, and again from 0700 GMT on January 3 until 0700 GMT on January 9.


“We have been clear from the outset of these talks that we needed to move at pace and if we did not have a credible offer, we would be forced to call strikes,” Robert Laurenson and Vivek Trivedi, the BMA Junior Doctors Committee co-chairs, said.

“Even though the approach was more constructive, there was not enough on offer to shape a credible deal, which we hoped would end the dispute.”

The BMA said the government had offered an additional three per cent, unevenly spread across doctors’ grades, which it argued would still amount to pay cuts for many doctors this year.

Health secretary Victoria Atkins said it was disappointing the Junior Doctors Committee had walked away from negotiations and declared new strikes.

Atkins said the latest strikes would result in more disruption for patients and extra pressure on the NHS during a busy winter period. “If the Junior Doctors Committee call off their strikes, we will immediately look to come back to the table to continue negotiations,” Atkins said.

Julian Hartley, chief executive of NHS Providers, which represents hospital groups in England, said January’s stoppage “will be the longest strike in NHS history during the busiest and toughest time of the year”.

A spokesman for prime minister Rishi Sunak described the planned action as “clearly” disappointing. He said the government’s offer had been “fair and reasonable”.

“Both the dates before Christmas and, indeed, the dates at the start of January are some of the most challenging times within the NHS, which obviously the junior doctors will be aware of,” the spokesman said.

Junior doctors have gone on strike at least six times since March.

Last month ministers reached a deal with medical unions which could see an end to strike action by consultants, in England.

The BMA said that offer, which will be put to a vote over the coming weeks, would see some doctors receive an additional uplift of as much as 12.8 per cent.

Hospital Consultants and Specialists Association (HCSA) also said junior doctors in England will stage a fresh 72-hour walkout from December 20 until December 22 over an ongoing dispute over pay.

“We need a resolution which answers the central issue here – the impact of years of real-terms salary cuts on recruitment, morale and retention,” HCSA president Dr Naru Narayanan said.

More For You

Russell brand

Sexual offences said to have taken place between 1999 and 2005

Getty

Russell Brand faces rape and sexual assault charges involving 4 women

Russell Brand has been formally charged with a series of sexual offences said to have taken place between 1999 and 2005. The comedian and actor faces allegations from four separate women, with the charges including rape, indecent assault, oral rape and further counts of sexual assault.

The Metropolitan Police confirmed on Friday that Brand has been informed of the charges. A statement from the force said he is to be charged with one count of rape in the Bournemouth area in 1999, one count of indecent assault in Westminster in 2001, one count of oral rape and an additional sexual assault in Westminster in 2004, and a further count of sexual assault in Westminster between 2004 and 2005.

Keep ReadingShow less
indian-parliament

In the Rajya Sabha, 128 members voted in favour, and 95 opposed it. In the Lok Sabha, 288 MPs supported the bill, while 232 voted against it.

Gatty images

Indian parliament passes the controversial Waqf (Amendment) Bill

INDIAN parliament has passed a controversial bill seeking to change the way Muslim charitable properties, known as waqf, are managed.

The bill was cleared after hours of heated debate, with the government saying it would bring transparency and the opposition alleging that it targets the Muslim community.

Keep ReadingShow less
Blood donor recruitment event for South Asian community

FILE PHOTO: A nurse prepares a man for a blood donation in London, England. (Photo by Carl Court/Getty Images)

Blood donor recruitment event for South Asian community

THE NHS is holding a blood donor recruitment event at Shepherd's Bush blood donor centre on Saturday (5) to attract South Asian donors to help treat health conditions affecting their community.

South Asian donors are needed to treat thalassemia, an inherited blood disorder which affects people of Mediterranean, south Asian, southeast Asian and Middle Eastern origin. People with thalassemia produce too little or no haemoglobin, causing anaemia, fatigue, breathing issues and other symptoms.

Keep ReadingShow less
Modi Yunus

The meeting took place on the sidelines of a regional summit in Thailand. (Photo: X/@ChiefAdviserGoB)

Modi meets Yunus for first talks since Hasina's exit

INDIAN prime minister Narendra Modi held talks with Bangladesh's interim leader Muhammad Yunus in Bangkok on Friday.

This was their first meeting since former Bangladeshi prime minister Sheikh Hasina was removed from office in 2024.

Keep ReadingShow less
US tourist arrested for entering North Sentinel Island

Authorities continue to investigate Polyakov’s actions

Youtube/ Neo-Orientalist

US tourist arrested for entering North Sentinel Island, home to Andaman tribe with no outside contact

Indian police have arrested a 24-year-old American tourist, Mykhailo Viktorovych Polyakov, for illegally entering North Sentinel Island, one of the most protected and isolated regions in the world. The remote island, part of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands in the Bay of Bengal, is home to the Sentinelese tribe, who reject all contact with outsiders and are safeguarded by Indian law.

Polyakov reportedly attempted to make contact with the Sentinelese by offering a coconut and a can of Diet Coke. He used a motorised inflatable boat to reach North Sentinel Island, where he spent a few minutes onshore before returning to his vessel. Authorities confirmed that he collected sand samples and filmed his brief landing using a GoPro camera.

Keep ReadingShow less