Hospitals working to get patients home for Christmas after five-day doctor strike

Patients in England are being sent home for Christmas and recovering from the disruption triggered by five days of doctor strikes. Residents, also known as junior doctors, are returning to work after a walkout due to continuing wage disputes. As senior doctors were repositioned to provide emergency and urgent care, thousands of elective and outpatient appointments were postponed. According to the NHS Confederation, which represents hospital trusts, the complete effect on patients is still being assessed. Despite last-minute talks between the British Medical Association (BMA) and the government, the strike went forward amid soaring flu cases.

Members of the BMA have turned down a new government bid that was aimed at combating issues such as education and career protection. Wes Streeting, the health minister, has said he would like to see an end to the conflict by the new year. The union is keen to get round the table with Mr Streeting, according to Dr. Jack Fletcher, chairman of the BMA's resident doctors committee.

2026 will see less name-calling and more deal-making,

he said. We need a quick solution to this jobs crisis and a dependable path to regaining the lost value of the occupation. "That must lead to the creation of truly new jobs and may require a judicious multi-year strategy to restoring doctors' compensation.

According to the doctors' union, 65% of its members had participated in what was the 14th strike since March 2023. According to inflation, the doctors' union has argued that resident doctors' pay is now a fifth less than it was in 2008. They saw an average pay increase of 5. 55 percent this year. 4%. I do want to end this conflict, Streeting said on a visit to an ambulance station in London last week.

I don't want us to be stuck in a bitter conflict, and I'm never going to shut the door to talks,

says the president, and

I'll do my best to see if we can get 2026 off to a promising start. The BMA is

demanding an extra 26% on top of what we've already received,Streeting said.This is not a figure we can afford, but we will get around the table with them again in the new year," he said.

The effects of the strike, according to health experts, will be felt into the new year

and beyond. According to Louise Stead, Group Chief Executive of Ashford and St Peter's and Royal Surrey NHS Foundation Trusts, hospitals are now operating to safely discharge as many patients home for Christmas as possible.

We've got a lot of very ill senior doctors on the hospital, and we now have to focus on getting patients out for Christmas and lowering our bed occupancy.

Last week, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer called the walkout dangerous and utterly irresponsible, particularly during a record flu season that begins in winter. The BMA said during the walkout that they would work with NHS chiefs to ensure safety in hospitals and other areas of the health care. Although the NHS is still on alert about flu, the virus is decreasing for the time being at least. TheBBC announced on Friday that over 3,000 patients had been in hospital in England with the virus. Residents in Scotland, on the other hand, are likely to go on strike from 13 January to 17 January. It will be the first time NHS staff have organised a national walkout.

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