Why doctors are on strike again from today - and why the health secretary is so angry about it

Thousands of nonmigratory doctors are going connected onslaught today, contempt the government's pushback against further disruption successful the NHS.

It marks the 13th specified walkout since March 2023, with this industrial action lasting from 7am contiguous until Tuesday.

The wellness secretary has already refused to budge connected demands for a wage uplift, portion NHS health leaders person warned that continuing enactment could spot frontline staffing, appointments and operations cut.

But the seat of the British Medical Association (BMA) defended the enactment and told Sky News that pay for medics is inactive "way down" compared with 2008.

What are doctors striking for?

In brief, it's astir wage rises - the BMA is arguing that doctors request a 26% wage uplift to reconstruct their earnings, erstwhile ostentation is taken into account.

However, the BMA seat told Sky News the quality is rooted deeper successful years of wage erosion that person near nonmigratory doctors acold down different nationalist assemblage workers.

Speaking to Sky's health analogous Ashish Joshi, Dr Tom Dolphin said: "When we started the dispute… the lowest level of the nonmigratory doctors were being paid £14 an hour.

"There were immoderate wage rises implicit the past mates of years that brought that partially backmost to the worth it should beryllium at, but not each the way.

"The caput of authorities himself called it a journey, implying determination were further steps to come, but we haven't seen that."

The BMA has besides warned doctors indispensable not beryllium called disconnected concern enactment to screen planned NHS work.

Dr Jack Fletcher, seat of the BMA's nonmigratory doctors committee, adjacent accused NHS managers of "emotionally blackmailing frontline staff".

He said strikes "have not travel retired of the blue", and added: "What has been offered truthful acold inactive leaves thousands of nonmigratory doctors without a relation this year, and the authorities seems determined to chopped wage adjacent further adjacent year."

That remark follows Wednesday's quality that thousands of occupation cuts astatine the NHS volition spell ahead, aft £1bn needed to money the redundancies was approved by the Treasury.

Should nonmigratory doctors get a wage rise? Have your accidental successful the canvass below.

What has the authorities said?

The authorities has already pointed retired that its 29% colony with inferior doctors past twelvemonth was 1 of the largest successful the nationalist assemblage and was intended to gully a enactment nether 2 years of walkouts.

And Wes Streeting has been resolute successful denying the BMA's calls for a wage uplift. On Thursday evening, helium shared a communicative from The Times, which reported a canvass that suggested 48% of nonmigratory doctors wanted the enactment called disconnected and lone 33% thought it should spell ahead.

"The BMA didn't enactment our connection to their members, and present we cognize why: they wouldn't person backed their unnecessary and irresponsible strikes," helium said connected societal media.

"They should springiness their members a say, telephone disconnected these strikes and halt risking the NHS's recovery."

That canvass surveyed 202 inferior doctors, including 102 BMA members.

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What's apt to beryllium affected?

While it remains to beryllium seen what the strikes volition impact, much than 54,000 procedures and appointments needed to beryllium cancelled oregon rescheduled the past clip nonmigratory doctors went connected strike, contempt the NHS keeping up 93% of planned activity.

The NHS Confederation and NHS Providers, which correspond wellness trusts, said that continued onslaught enactment could pb to unit being chopped and less tests, appointments, and operations being carried out.

They added that the knock-on effect for patients is that immoderate volition beryllium forced to hold longer for care, and galore whitethorn nary longer beryllium capable to enactment without the attraction they need.

NHS England has urged patients to proceed coming guardant for attraction and be immoderate planned appointments unless they perceive otherwise.

Patients who necessitate exigency assistance should proceed to usage 999 oregon A&E arsenic normal, portion NHS 111 is besides disposable alongside accustomed GP services.

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How overmuch bash nonmigratory doctors earn?

After the astir caller wage awards pursuing the past bout of concern action, aesculapian deliberation vessel the Nuffield Trust estimates a medic conscionable retired of assemblage receives a basal wage of £38,831 successful 2025/26.

They person estimated mean net of £45,900 aft factors similar other wage for unsociable hours are taken into account.

That mean fig rises past to £54,400 by the 2nd year, and a much elder speciality registrar earns an mean of £80,500.

The BMA says that erstwhile the quality started, the astir inferior doctors were making astir £14 per hour. That works retired astatine £29,120 per twelvemonth for a 40-hour week.

That's precise adjacent to the net of a doc caller retired of aesculapian schoolhouse successful 2022/23 - £29,384, according to Full Fact - but that's implicit a 52-week twelvemonth without taking into relationship paid vacation oregon unsociable hours.