Junior doctors in North Wales begin 72-hour strike over pay

Junior doctors in Wales have begun a 72 hour full walkout over pay.

Almost every junior doctor (98 per cent) who took part in the ballot for industrial action which ended 18 December voted to strike in pursuit of pay restoration.

According to BMA Cymru Wales junior doctor pay has been eroded by almost a third (29.6 per cent) since 2008/9.

The 72-hour full walkout from 7am on the 15 January to 7am on the 18 January could see over 3,000 doctors with up to 11 years of experience out of medical school withdraw their labour from Welsh hospitals and GP surgeries across Wales in pursuit of a fairer deal for their service.

Doctors will be present at picket lines outside all of Wales’ main hospital sites – including at the Wrexham Maelor -as well as taking their concerns to members of the Senedd with a planned mass demonstration outside the Welsh parliament building on Tuesday 16 January.

The Welsh junior doctors committee made the decision to ballot members in August after being offered another below-inflation pay offer of five per cent – the worst in the UK and lower than recommended by the DDRB (the review body for Doctors’ and Dentists’ Remuneration).

The offer was put to the doctors just four months after the Welsh Government initially declared they would commit to the principle of pay restoration back in April 2023.

Dr Oba Babs-Osibodu and Dr Peter Fahey co-chairs of BMA Cymru Wales’ junior doctors committee said: “No doctor wants to strike; we had hoped the Welsh Government had properly understood the strength of feeling amongst junior doctors in Wales. Sadly, their inaction over this matter has led us here today, demoralised, frustrated and angry.

“After years of undervaluing our lifesaving service we feel we’ve been left with no choice but to stand up for the profession and say enough is enough, we cannot and will not accept the unacceptable anymore.

“Our members have been forced to take this difficult decision because Junior doctors in Wales have experienced a pay cut of 29.6 per cent in real terms over the last 15 years.

“A doctor starting their career in Wales will earn as little as £13.65 an hour and for that they could be performing lifesaving procedures and taking on huge levels of responsibility.

“We aren’t asking for a pay rise – we are asking for our pay to be restored in line with inflation back to 2008 levels, when we began to receive pay cuts in real terms.

“Pay needs to be fair and competitive with other healthcare systems across the world to retain and recruit doctors and NHS staff to provide much-needed care.

“On top of this junior doctors are experiencing worsening conditions and so doctors are now looking to leave Wales to develop their careers for better pay and a better quality of life elsewhere.

“This is not a decision that has been made lightly. No doctor wants to take industrial action, but we have been given no choice. Doctors are already voting with their feet and leaving the NHS and we are in a vicious cycle of crippling staffing shortages and worsening patient care”.

Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board is warning that its services will be disrupted over the 72 hours.

A health board spokesperson said: “This will impact our hospital services and we are currently working hard with our staff to keep patients safe during planned strikes while delivering the best care possible.

“This does, however, mean that some planned care appointments will need to be rearranged. Anyone who has an appointment that needs to be rearranged will be contacted directly to discuss this.

“If you have a planned appointment then please still attend unless you are contacted directly to say otherwise.

“During this time we would urge anyone who requires care or support to visit the NHS 111 Wales website in the first instance to be advised about the most appropriate service, which might be self-care at home, a visit to the pharmacy, a GP appointment, a Minor Injuries Unit, or, in life threatening circumstances, the hospital Emergency Department.”