Now is not the time for doctors to go on strike

There is no “good” time to go on strike in the National Health Service, and certainly not during its now routine winter crisis –

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There is no “good” time to go on strike in the National Health Service, and certainly not during its now routine winter crisis which is growing particularly acute because of the “flunami”.

Strikes are meant to cause disruption. But there is surely a balance to be struck in such a vital public service as the NHS, and where it is primarily patients, not politicians, who will experience the pain of missed appointments, treatment and operations.

The right to strike, even in the NHS, is a fundamental one, and needs to be respected, but to abuse it in the way now being planned by the resident doctors brings them and their cause – which is not without merit - into disrepute. In such cases as this, public support is crucial to success, and it has been steadily eroding during years of seemingly incessant strike action.

In the case of the resident doctors, the arrival of a Labour government, increased investment in the NHS, improved prospects for promotion into consultancy, and a very substantial pay rise seem to have made little difference to their attitude. To many facing even greater hardships because of the cost of living crisis, and who have to rely on the NHS - the great majority of the population – this latest wave of strike action isn’t going to attract much sympathy.