On Thursday, thousands of doctors in England initiated their 11th walkout in an ongoing dispute with the government over pay and working conditions, leading to significant disruptions in hospital services just days before the U.K. general election.
The five-day strike involves junior doctors, who are in the early stages of their careers.
This strike highlights the ongoing issues within the National Health Service (NHS), the U.K.’s state-run public health system, a crucial concern for voters as they head to the polls on July 4.
Junior doctors, essential to hospital and clinic operations, have been in a pay dispute with the government since late 2022.
Their six-day strike in January, the longest in NHS history, resulted in the cancellation of tens of thousands of appointments and operations.
The current strike began on Thursday and will end on Tuesday, just two days before the general election.
The British Medical Association (BMA), the doctors’ union, claims their pay has decreased by 25% over the past 15 years and demands a 35% pay increase.
The union states that newly qualified doctors earn about £15 ($19) an hour, only slightly above the U.K. minimum wage of just over £10 an hour, though salaries increase significantly after the first year.
Dr. Sumi Manirajan, deputy chair of the junior doctors’ committee at the BMA, said that years of underfunding have driven young doctors to seek better pay in countries like Australia, leaving those who remain overworked and underpaid.
“Doctors that I trained with in London, some of the best in the country, have left to go to New Zealand.
And actually what it makes me think of is why am I not doing the same? I want to be valued for the work that I do,” she said.
Manirajan, who recently graduated and works in obstetrics and gynecology, noted that many women wait over a year for routine procedures.
“These patients are in pain, and it hurts us to see these patients come in again and again with the same problem that we know we could treat if we had enough doctors,” she said.
Dr. Shivam Sharma, who was among the striking doctors outside St. Thomas’ Hospital in central London, described the state of Britain’s health service as “terrifying.”
He highlighted the deteriorating standards, noting, “We used to have real standards in this country. Patients need to be seen at A&E within four hours, and now you’re lucky to be seen within 12.”
Sharma also pointed out the severe impact on patient safety, stating, “Last winter we had 500 avoidable deaths a week. That’s like a Boeing jet of patients going down. It’s completely unacceptable.”
The Conservative government claims it awarded doctors pay raises between 8.1% and 10.3% last year, calling it a generous settlement.
It asserts that a new pay offer cannot be made during the pre-election period, but the union refused to call off the strikes.
Manirajan criticized the timing of the election, saying it was unfortunate that the government chose to proceed with it knowing the dispute was unresolved.
The BMA has expressed willingness to negotiate and has already engaged in discussions with the opposition Labour Party, which currently leads in polls.
Siva Anandaciva, chief analyst at The King’s Fund think tank, commented, “It is difficult to comprehend how either the Conservative Party or the Labour Party can deliver on their manifesto commitment to recover NHS performance over the next Parliament without first ending the dispute.”