Junior doctors’ strike the tip of the iceberg

Zahid Chauhan: strike just the start

STRIKE action by junior doctors is the tip of the iceberg says Oldham GP Dr Zahid Chauhan.

He warned that other increasingly undervalued NHS workers could be forced into similar steps.

Dr Chauhan, a senior partner at practices in Royton and Failsworth, claims cuts to staffing levels and issues in social care are forcing GPs, nurses and paramedics to make a stand or quit their professions.

Junior doctors will strike tomorrow after talks over “potentially unsafe and unfair” contract changes broke down.

Junior doctors, including at the Royal Oldham Hospital, will strike for 24 hours from 8am, with further action planned later in the month if negotiations are not successful.

Dr Chauhan said: “This Government is playing dice with the British public’s health by trying to run our health service on a shoestring. It really comes to something when junior doctors who consider their job a calling have to resort to strike action.

“If they are not listened to they will be like so many others who have simply departed healthcare altogether — leaving the public dangerously exposed.”

The NHS has lost nearly 4,000 senior nursing posts since 2010; many trusts are trying to plug the gaps by recruiting from overseas.

GPs are also choosing to leave Britain with offers of better pay and fewer hours in countries such as New Zealand and Australia. Paramedics are also in short supply. The Home Office has placed the profession on a shortage occupation list.