Striking doctors return to hospital amid fears over patient safety

STRIKING junior doctors returned to work at a struggling hospital today amid fears over patient safety — as health bosses warned that the situation in the NHS would become “more challenging each day that the action progresses”.

- Daniel Keane

The British Medical Association (BMA) announced that several doctors would come off the picket line to staff the hospital’s emergency department, claiming “poor planning by local management” had left it “exposed”.

The move at Weston General Hospital in Weston-Super-Mare, Somerset, came as more than 47,000 members of the union began a second day of strike action in the bitter dispute over pay. It was feared that other hospitals may need to partially close emergency departments or request help from the union due to inadequate staff cover.