Liverpool doctors join strike action

HEALTH SECRETARY SLAMMED DECISION AS 'RECKLESS AND IRRESPONSIBLE'

- By JAMIE GREER

DOCTORS in Liverpool and across the country walked out on strike yesterday despite a warning from the NHS about the disruption the industrial action would cause.

The action is being taken by resident doctors, who make up around half the medical workforce in the NHS and have up to eight years' experience working as a hospital doctor or three years as a GP.

The British Medical Association (BMA) argues that this group, previously known as junior doctors, need a 26% pay uplift to restore their earnings, once inflation is taken into account.

The government says that its 29% settlement with resident doctors last year was one of the largest in the public sector and was intended to draw a line under two years of walkouts.

Striking doctors set up a picket line outside the main entrance to the Royal Liverpool University Hospital yesterday. The strikes are set to last until 7am on Wednesday, November 19.