Poll: Doctors strike tomorrow, do you support it?

Junior Doctor's Strike, do you support it?

  • Yes

    Votes: 438 59.4%

  • No

    Votes: 299 40.6%
  • Total voters
    737
As a matter of interest,

Has there ever been a Doctors strike in the USA.

As far as I can recall, the nearest they ever got to one was a suggestion at a doctors conference some years ago that Doctors should refuse to treat Lawyers.

An interesting dynamic! :D
 
I don't know how it works in the US, I'm not actually sure who employs them - whether they work for private healthcare companies directly or hospitals employ staff and healthcare companies contract work to hospitals.

New Zealand had a very effective doctors strike and achieved improvements in working conditions, pay, better cover on the wards.
 
Another 2 days of strikes tomorrow, this time I'm not going in but again a few of the Reg's decided to go in so everything will still run smoothly.
 
Dr House said:
Another 2 days of strikes tomorrow, this time I'm not going in but again a few of the Reg's decided to go in so everything will still run smoothly.
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Aye, and I note that once again Mr Hunt seems to have refused to talk about anything other than his 5 year plan.
 
Even those this crappy new contract will affect me for years, I'm not totally behind the idea of this full walk out. I really can't see a government U-turn with this strike when the others didn't get a response. I sort of feel like it just harms the image of the profession. I remember hearing a group of consultants grumbling about having to cover the shifts at 8am on the day of the last strikes, so I can't imagine what they'll say tomorrow.

I still have a sense that the BMA is just a bit naff and isn't capable of dealing with this government. What needed to happen after they said they'd impose the contract is for every junior doctor to write their resignation letter, signed and dated for the day of the imposition. The government couldn't ignore that. It worked for the GPs in 1965.
 
Werewolf said:
Aye, and I note that once again Mr Hunt seems to have refused to talk about anything other than his 5 year plan.
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Hunts given up - it just fingers in ears now.

I'm striking tomorrow, I think we're finally gaining some momentum and support is holding if not improving, certainly the press are more supportive.
 
While I support your argument over the contract, I don't support any strike that threatens patients lives. When doctors seem willing break the Hippocratic Oath by risking the health of any patient through inaction (not being there when you should) is unforgivable.

I also feel the same way about the fire-fighter strikes too. I support the argument but not strike action which risks lives.
 
"It was something of a revelation. This contract gave a 13.5 per cent uprating in basic pay (compared with the 11 per cent that had been previously offered – pay clearly had mattered in the negotiations, despite the BMA’s claims to the contrary).

It introduced an innovative way of monitoring hours, under dedicated guardians. It limited the total number of hours that could be worked in a week from 91 to 72.

It gave 15 days study leave to first-year doctors. It cut down the number of consecutive nights and long days from the previous contract, and gave a guaranteed, 48‑hour break between consecutive long night shifts and night work."

Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/04/25/why-i-no-longer-support-the-doctors-strike/

So why are they striking (assuming the above is correct)?
 
I rarely support strikes. But I support this one. I believe the doctors far more than I believe or would trust politicians. I'm not sure a complete walkout is the answer because of the risk to life. But ultimately I guess it's the only way of getting the point across.
 
ianh said:
While I support your argument over the contract, I don't support any strike that threatens patients lives. When doctors seem willing break the Hippocratic Oath by risking the health of any patient through inaction (not being there when you should) is unforgivable.

I also feel the same way about the fire-fighter strikes too. I support the argument but not strike action which risks lives.
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The Government shouldn't have put them in that position.
 
oldbag said:
"It was something of a revelation. This contract gave a 13.5 per cent uprating in basic pay (compared with the 11 per cent that had been previously offered – pay clearly had mattered in the negotiations, despite the BMA’s claims to the contrary).

It introduced an innovative way of monitoring hours, under dedicated guardians. It limited the total number of hours that could be worked in a week from 91 to 72.

It gave 15 days study leave to first-year doctors. It cut down the number of consecutive nights and long days from the previous contract, and gave a guaranteed, 48‑hour break between consecutive long night shifts and night work."

Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/04/25/why-i-no-longer-support-the-doctors-strike/

So why are they striking (assuming the above is correct)?
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The contract means the same amount of doctors to offer more service, in essence spreading them further.

The contract does not supply any more staffing in terms of radiographers, phlebotomy and nurses.
 
V F said:
The Government shouldn't have put them in that position.
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and that means people can suffer does it or should they stick the single oath they may never break as a doctor, one that transcends pay squabbles, the one that says "do no harm" which all those striking are breaking?

Again, I agree with the doctors arguments, just not allowing genuinely innocent people to suffer which breaks the one single oath every doctor says they will never break.
 
ianh said:
and that means people can suffer does it or should they stick the single oath they may never break as a doctor, one that transcends pay squabbles, the one that says "do no harm" which all those striking are breaking?

Again, I agree with the doctors arguments, just not allowing genuinely innocent people to suffer which breaks the one single oath every doctor says they will never break.
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Given that, why would you refuse to negotiate as Hunt as done?
 
As newly qualified health care professional I fully support the jnr doctors.

I would support anyone whom was doing the same over imposed pay cuts and I also believe that if it gets pushed through, I too will have this imposed upon me and any other health care professional in the nhs.

As it stands my basic wage is barely 20k and this is after 3 years at uni.

I also have to work out of hours and weekend most weeks as we provide a 7 day service already covering shifts up to 16hrs long.

Granted I get some additional pay for this which means I can afford to take on this role. If my over time pay was reduced it would have a drastic effect on my pay. I think people should bare in mind the potential knock on effects down the line
 
Strikes never solve anything and this one certainly won't.

What i don't understand is the Junior Doctors are striking because they are overworked and underpaid etc. Tomorrow 13,00 operations will be cancelled. Surely when the strike is over and the Junior Doctors go back to work then they have will MORE work to do catching up on everything.

Plus, don't most Junior Doctors work in the Private Sector? When they get time off they work! Go to any BUPA hospital and it's full of NHS Junior Doctors .......
 
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albert said:
Strikes never solve anything and this one certainly won't.

What i don't understand is the Junior Doctors are striking because they are overworked and underpaid etc. Tomorrow 13,00 operations will be cancelled. Surely when the strike is over and the Junior Doctors go back to work then they have will MORE work to do catching up on everything.

Plus, don't most Junior Doctors work in the Private Sector? When they get time off they work! Go to any BUPA hospital and it's full of NHS Junior Doctors .......
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In 8 years of working as a junior doctor I have met one junior doctor that works in the private sector, nearly all private work is done by consultants. There is the occasional registrar or staff grade that works to cover the private wards.

This is a contract that is designed to fulfil an election pledge - it doesn't achieve what it is meant to do, there is no plan for 7 day working, there is no cost projection, no analysis of how it will impact weekday care, no extra staff available and it is openly discriminatory against women.

It's become a political exercise - Humt has said "there is nothing that will stop him imposing" so even if we all agreed to work for free it has got to the point where his career and position is so entwined with pushing through this contract he has lost any kind of sense. This is a minister for health who won't speak to doctors, will have a car drive him 50ft down the road to avoid doctors waiting to talk to him and has them camping outside his place of work and he still just buries his head in the sand.
 
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Jolteh said:
What needed to happen after they said they'd impose the contract is for every junior doctor to write their resignation letter, signed and dated for the day of the imposition. The government couldn't ignore that.
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Surely this would have been the perfect plan. No way the government could have ignored that.
 
Uther said:
Surely this would have been the perfect plan. No way the government could have ignored that.
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It's still on the table - although people are reluctant as we've all got mortgages to pay.

I think the BMA will probably escalate one more strike before mass resignation.
 
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