England’s junior doctors will go on strike for the third time this year after talks with the government broke down yesterday. The industrial action will last 72 hours, taking place between 14 and 17 June.
So far, BMA members have staged two walkouts, one for three days and another for four. In the last strike, which lasted 96 hours, just under 200,000 routine appointments and procedures were cancelled. With a record 7.3 million people on NHS waiting lists, the health service does not have the capacity to deal with staff walkouts. But the BMA has been frank with the government: the union has said it will continue strike action for at least three days a month until their legal mandate runs out in late August, before which time they will have to ballot their members again.
Medics in England are calling for full pay restoration of 35 per cent.
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