Doctors strike 'will risk patients' lives'

PATIENTS on record waiting lists will die unnecessarily or suffer for longer if junior doctors go back on strike, experts warn.

- By Lucy Johnston SOCIAL AFFAIRS EDITOR

The threat of industrial action comes after Health Secretary Wes Streeting refused a British Medical Association demand for a 29% pay hike this year for resident doctors, formerly known as junior doctors.

They received a 22% pay rise last summer after the protesting medics walked out on 44 days between March 2023 and last July, leading to 1.5 million appointments and operations being cancelled.

Another above-inflation pay rise of 5.4% has been handed to them this year, significantly more than nurses and the rest of the public sector.