Description
The doctors were absent for four days and want their salaries to return to 2008 levels Dr Rob Laurenson is Co-Chairman of the British Medical Association Young Physicians Committee A key figure behind the four-day youth doctors' strike has apologized for 'undermining' the action by booking holidays when colleagues left.
Dr Rob Laurenson, co-chairman of the British Medical Association's Young Doctors Committee, took annual leave to attend a family friend's wedding this week, which means he will be paid as the doctors have gone to the strike.
In a message shared with colleagues posted online, Dr. Laurenson said: "I can see that you feel undermined and I am very sorry that my actions have contributed to this."
Laurenson apologized for missing the strike
About 47,000 young doctors will resign this week in a pay dispute. They are demanding a 35% raise to restore a 26% cut in real terms to their pay from 2008. They say the move will help the NHS recruit and retain trainee doctors and take pressure off the health service.
Hospital chiefs estimate that 350,000 routine operations will be canceled during the 96-hour strike, with less than half the number of consultants to cover the assistant physicians' shifts as in the previous strike.
Negotiations are suspended as doctors and the government argue over who is ready to come to the table. Doctors say they are ready to speak through the Acas Conciliation Service, but minister Chris Philp said they have made no "formal contact".
“If the Young Doctors Committee is ready to call off their strike and remove this 35% salary increase as a precondition for talks, then we are very happy,” he told Radio 4/s Hoy. . "The door is open to have these discussions."
Dr. Laurenson came under fire on Wednesday when it was revealed that he was missing his clutch.
Former Conservative health minister Lord Bethell described him as a "plunker", while Rishi Sunak said he was "shocked to read" that Dr Laurenson was on holiday during the strikes.
But colleagues were quick to defend Dr. Laurenson, insisting his absence was justified because he was "fulfilling a long-standing commitment."
Asking his colleagues to "pardon" him on Thursday, Dr Laurenson, 28, said: "The most important thing to me is the integrity of the medical unit and that's why I strive to be as transparent as possible. possible and responsible.
Health service officials have warned that the strike will be the most disruptive yet and will have a significant impact on the ability of the NHS to deliver care.
The NHS Confederation warned on the second day of the action that "with trainee doctors making up almost two-fifths of an already understaffed workforce, NHS leaders are understandably concerned about the further impact this strike in their services".
Striking junior NHS doctors on the picket line outside St Thomas' Hospital in London
The majority of the population supports the young doctors' strike, with 54% in favor and only 26 against, according to an Ipsos poll. Instead of plummeting, support for the strikes has risen since March.
But Health Secretary Steve Barclay dismissed the young doctors' demand to reinstate their salary as "unrealistic" and said it amounted to a 35% raise.
The government refused to negotiate with the BMA until the union gave up its wage claim.
Pennsylvania
PA wire
Access
