March 13, 2023 3.00 pm This story is over 8 months old

Junior doctors strikes begin as hundreds of hospital appointments cancelled

They are calling on the government to negotiate

Junior doctors on strike outside Lincoln County Hospital, March 2023. | Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite

By Joseph Verney Local News Reporter

Seventy non-urgent operations and 300-400 outpatient appointments were cancelled as junior doctors in Lincolnshire began strikes over pay on Monday.

The 72 hour junior doctors walkout began at 7am on Monday, with pickets outside the hospital twice a day.

United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust (ULHT) said the current industrial action has had a “significant impact on our workforce”.

However the doctors say the strikes are necessary to protect the NHS long-term.

Cars could be heard beeping their horns in support of the picket line of junior doctors outside Lincoln County Hospital.

Becky Bates, who is a foundation year one doctor at Lincoln, led the action on Monday.

Becky Bates, who is a foundation year one doctor at Lincoln. | Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite

She told The Lincolnite: “I’m here because the government has cut our pay over a quarter in the last decade and continue to refuse to negotiate with us, so the only option they’ve given us is to take industrial action.

“We are very grateful to our consultant and associate specialist colleagues who are covering those shifts, stepping up to make sure patient safety won’t be compromised.

“If people need medical care over the next 72 hours they will get that in the hospital from our senior doctors who are in support, so we are absolutely confident they’ll get the care they need.”

A dog showing paw-some support for the junior doctors.| Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite

Another doctor on the picket line said: “It’s not just about the money, it’s about the respect we deserve. It’s about the hard work we put in, the risks we take, the care we give the patients, it is really important for us.”

In response to ULHT recently releasing a statement about cancelling non-urgent operations and appointments Becky, who is paid £14.09 per hour as a first year doctor, added: “ We’re seeing doctors leaving at alarming rates.

“A recent survey showed that two-thirds of doctors are considering leaving the NHS and so I would say I’m really sorry that those appointments have been cancelled, but in the big scheme of things we’re trying to protect the long-term health of the NHS and we want everyone to have timely access to clinics and operations and everything going forward and we feel this is a necessary part of that.

“The government didn’t listen to us until we announced our ballot. They wouldn’t meet with us, they have started meeting with us recently. Steve Barclay didn’t come with a mandate to discuss pay with us, so they have only started paying attention once we announced this action.

“We think they will only come with a credible offer once we’ve taken our action and shown our worth as a workforce.”

Andrew Morgan, CEO at ULHT. | Photo: The Lincolnite

Andrew Morgan, CEO of ULHT, told The Lincolnite they will get cancelled patients back in for new appointments as soon as they can.

He said: “It depends on their particular priority and clinical urgency. We know for those long waiters who have had their operations cancelled, we have booked a number of those in already before the end of March, so they’ll have a very short period.

“But there will be others that might go beyond that period. We’ll do everything we can to get them in as quickly as possible.”

The striking doctors want their pay to be restored back to 2008 levels.

Mr Morgan declined to say whether he thought that was fair, saying “My job is to run the hospitals.”