UK & World News
- 21 June 2012, 22:34
Doctors' Strike: 'Limited Impact On Patients'
Fewer than one in 10 patients had their operations or consultations rescheduled because of the doctors' strike, NHS figures show.
According to the Department of Health 2,700 operations and 18,750 outpatient appointments were cancelled - far fewer than had been forecast.
Three quarters of GP surgeries were open as usual.
Andrew Lansley, the Health Secretary, said it had been wrong to inconvenience patients.
But the British Medical Association (BMA) said the day of action had achieved its aim of sending a message to the Government.
Doctors are protesting over changes to their pensions that would mean they would have to contribute more, work longer and receive less in retirement.
The BMA announced the action last month after it accused ministers of pressing ahead with "totally unjustified" increases to pension contributions and a later retirement age for doctors, even though a deal on pensions was agreed four years ago.
Dr Laurence Buckman, head of the BMA's GP committee, said: "We realised that the public would not think it was a great idea for a rich set of NHS workers to complain about something.
"But how else can we demonstrate how upset we are? None of us want to take this action. We were pushed in to this. It is on very edge of what is professionally acceptable."
Under the changes doctors would still retire on an average of £48,000 plus a lump sum of £143,000.
Norfolk GP Dr Malcolm Willis, who worked as normal, accused striking doctors of greed.
:: Doctors argue for and against strike
He told Sky News: "I find it shocking - as do most of the patients I talk to - that any doctor would ever think of taking industrial action that might harm them or inconvenience them.
"They trust us and this is breaking the trust."
The British Medical Association has not ruled out further action.
But Mr Lansley has refused to renegotiate, saying: "What they can't do is go out on their own and think that by issuing threats or taking strike action they will prejudice the deal for other members of NHS staff in order to secure a better deal for doctors alone."
Hospitals will now have to fit the backlog of patients from the strike into clinics that are already busy.
Mr Lansley has said up to 1.25 million GP appointments will be pushed into the days and weeks following the action.
what do you think?
Chris Robinson
This CONDEM government is looking increasingly lonely in its insistence on austerity. To everybody else...it's not working. Not only that, their plans for further privatisation and cuts in the NHS could threaten the very existence of our hospitals as we know them. But trade unions are still building resistance to these cuts including the doctors union (BMA) who are on strike today, the first time in 37 years. That such a relatively well-off section of workers as the doctors are going on strike surely reflects the general anger, not just about pensions but the increasing attacks on the NHS. Doctors should link up with the many other workers public and private sector - Unity is Strength.
Ian Bond
Gentlemen and ladies, you do NOT have the public sympathy, this may come back to bite you !!
Thomas Cat
Yes Dave unlike the Guardian, Observer, Mirror etxc who we all know are totally unbiased in their reporting of events.
Charles Wood
Because of the law of this land I lost my house on a gentlemans agreement sealed by a handshake, no paperwork was produced' So why should the so called Government be allowed to welch on a deal done on paper by the best solicitor in the country? might as well allow the banks to call in all the morgages the have and any other deal made by anyone to be changed without comeback?
numerouno
Family doctors are earning up to £380,000 a year, a Daily Mail investigation has revealed. GPs take home 'jaw-dropping' sums thanks to bonuses and overtime payments. They are being paid more than £200 an hour for evenings and weekends - work they did for free before the bungled introduction of a new contract in 2004. Six years ago GPs were paid around £70,000.
Chris Robinson
'The Daily Mail' said all that? Right. This will be the Daily Mail who is ALWAYS against ANY section of workers going on strike. In fact, they are practically against the right to strike. It's no surpise really that, during the 1930s, the 'freedom-loving' Daily Mail was one of those newspapers that spoke favourably of Hitler and supported Mosley's Blackshirts.
john
Doctors are useful, MPs and bankers are not. Our dear leaders are quite happy to set the people against each other, it takes our little minds off the damage that they are inflicting on our nation.
Ben
The biggest problem with the doctors striking is the teachers will now think they should get £100k a year pension
Lorgar Aurelian
Haha spot on Ben! I do wish teachers got performance related pay...
Michael Mcardle
look when alls said and done everyone whatever their proffesion have the right to strike if they believe it is justifiable. after all what other means have they of alerting people to the fact they have a grievance with their pay or conditions. the government mean while bleat on about how the drs should think about the patients. how morrally wrong it is for them to strike .trying to shame them into abondoning their action. well then they should sit down and talk to the medical proffesion instead of refusing to listen. its them who are causing the troubles and not just with the doctors its across the board. they are just not prepared to entertain the idea they just might be wrong.sooner this shower are put in their place the better for the country
Chris Robinson
Agree with you, Michael. As for the CONDEMs saying how the doctors should 'think about their patients' that's exactly what this government is NOT doing as it closes hospitals, wards, makes nurses and other staff redundant and freeze their pay and steal their pensions etc.
David Francis
Are they misreading their job titles - reading the D as a P in MD? Striking is NOT the only option - they can suffer th all in retirement income like all of us in the private sector have had to do. Docotrs can afford to put a little more away thrmselves if they dont want to have a reduced pension. I am struggling to live today and will probably be working till I drop down dead with NO retirement - that is if my employer doesnt go bust first!
Julie Brown
Them that has most wants more .. Wonder how the docs would manade on my pension ..£130 a week and NO benefits ... thats a evening dinner out for them
Terry Boston-Marsh
In response to Richard and Keith - public sector workers are taxpayers too. An average monthly pension payment for a Band 5 nurse is around £200. I've had to stop paying into mine because of the pay freeze, loss of recruitment & retention premia and forced increase of pension payments. My monthly wage was going down so something had to give. Hopefully after the mortgage has finished I can return to paying into a pension. Both public sector & private sector workers need to unite and stick up for their rights and pensions. Not to be walked over by employers and the government. If we carry on like this we will have to bring back the workhouse!
Lorgar Aurelian
While the private sector CREATE wealth and the public sector LEECH it? Win-win for the public "workers" eh?
Thomas Cat
To all public sector workers: you (or your trade union reps) said and did nothing whilst Gordon Brown stole money from private pension savings, a result of which is a vast drop in retirement income made worse by diminishing returns from these schemes. If you had given us the support we needed then, you would have found the support that you need now.Unfortunately, most of you are so blindly loyal to the liebour party that you probably agreed with what they did.
aa aa
We are two years into the Condems term . Yet you still harp on about "liebour," ( getting a bit pathetic that mis spelling crack, but that's your level, and your happy) about time you realised your heroes aren't fixing things.They are most definitely doing a worse job than Labour.
Thomas Cat
aa aa, calm down,calm down. They are most definitely NOT my heroes and you haven't replied to my comment that you were happy to do nothing when private sector workers were hammered by brown and his cohorts.
Chris Robinson
We balloted for strikes right across the public sector back in 2005 while the Reverend Blair was still running the show (into the ground) with Brown beside him and, guess what, they backed off. Now if the private sector got themselves re-organised, or as well organised as, say, the construction workers or engineering workers, they wouldn't tread all over you. But then, maybe you don't like 'naughty militant unions, who stick up for their workers and that's partly why you resent the public sector workers.
Lorgar Aurelian
And what level is the Condem thing? I love hypocrites!
Alf Bibby
Its not that the doctors took industrial action ( it was never going to cause many problems) its the fact that they were forced into voting for industrial action. Calamity Cameron as now alienated Doctors , teachers. policemen, nurses, prison officers, firefighters and ambulance drivers ( not of which you would call militant ) as well as everybody in the public sector. The Tories did not win the last election and they do not have a mandate to ruin this country. Its up to Cowardly Clegg and his LibDem sheep to put an end to it.
aa aa
Public sector workers should not get a pension . If they want a pension, they should pay for the whole thing, just like private sector workers. I object to paying for the public sector pension, when i don't pay into a pension for myself.
Alf Bibby
Dont talk rubbish you goon
Adrian Wagstaff
So far as I remember from the previous article, however many weeks ago, the doctors are striking due to the percentage of their salaries going towards their pension being increased. I agree with the doctors, if that is the case. Have you seen what hours they work and what they actually have to do? Being a doctor is a terrible job. For instance, my dad had a heart bypass. Do you know what that actually involves? That is the kind of thing doctors' work involves. If you were a doctor, how much percentage of your salary would you want to go towards your pension? How many will end up living to get a pension? I knew some doctors who died while they were still working and one was very young.
Mike A Smith
On the news last night a hospital spokesperson said that the striking doctors had no effect on patients treatments, so why are they employed?
Andrew Brown
I work in the private sector. Like many others my Final Salary scheme was shut down and overnight I went from looking at a 40k-plus pension to barely 6k - I wonder how the doctors would react to that? I am just pleased to have a job under the circumstances and unless people wake up to the true gravity of our economic situation as a country, then we are set for strike after strike and what will that achieve? I think we all know its not going to get us out of the crisis.
Richard Gould
5:18am on 21/6/2012
So, greed comes before the Hippocratic Oath??? I am sick and tired of the moaning from ALL public sector employees but this is going too far now with doctors, who already get a decent wage, joining in. Message to you doctors - Try arranging a pension as a manual labourer with a meagre income! It is about time that the taxpayer was given a referendum as to whether public sector pensions should be funded by the taxpayer or not. Cut them loose and make them experience what private sector employees have to.
numerouno
8:21am on 21/6/2012
Family doctors are earning up to £380,000 a year, a Daily Mail investigation has revealed. GPs take home 'jaw-dropping' sums thanks to bonuses and overtime payments. They are being paid more than £200 an hour for evenings and weekends - work they did for free before the bungled introduction of a new contract in 2004. Six years ago GPs were paid around £70,000.
Andrea Hill
8:24am on 21/6/2012
Public sector workers AlSO pay into their pensions.thank you!!!!!
Name witheld
10:48am on 21/6/2012
This comment has been removed for violations of our Terms and Conditions.
Chris Robinson
2:43pm on 21/6/2012
Yes, Richard, manual labourers really struggle with pensions due to meagre wages. The public sector should have good pensions and the private sector should be brought in line with them to make it fair. How do we pay for it? Easy. Tax the tax-avoiding rich to the hilt, get our money back off the bankers just for starters.
Lorgar Aurelian
10:31pm on 21/6/2012
Public sector workers? An oxymoron if ever there was one!!!