Junior doctors’ strike will have ‘catastrophic impact’ on waiting lists

The four-day strike by junior doctors in England will have a “catastrophic impact” on NHS waiting lists, with up to 350,000 appointments and operations likely to be cancelled, the chief executive of the NHS Confederation has said.

Matthew Taylor said the industrial action this week posed risks to patient safety and called on the public to avoid “risky behaviour”.

“These strikes are going to have a catastrophic impact on the capacity of the NHS to recover services,” he told Sky News. “The health service has to meet high levels of demand at the same time as making inroads into that huge backlog that built up before Covid, but then built up much more during Covid."

He said he hoped everyone who needed urgent care would get it, but added: “There’s no point hiding the fact that there will be risks to patients – risks to patient safety, risks to patient dignity – as we’re not able to provide the kind of care that we want to.”

He called on the public to use NHS services responsibly.

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Source; The Guardian, 10 April 2023