NHS England boss: Patients paying the price for strikes
The head of NHS England has warned that July's planned strikes in the health service could be the worst yet for patients.
Amanda Pritchard said industrial action across the NHS had already caused "significant" disruption - and that patients were paying the price.
This month's consultant strike will bring a "different level of challenge" than previous strikes, she said.
Junior doctors and consultants will strike for a combined seven days.
Ms Pritchard told the BBC's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme that the work of consultants - who are striking for the first time in a decade - cannot be covered "in the same way" as junior doctors.
"The hard truth is that it is patients that are paying the price for the fact that all sides have not yet managed to reach a resolution," she said.
Source: BBC News, 2 July 2023