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You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.theguardian.com/society/live/2016/apr/26/junior-doctors-start-first-all-out-strike-live
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| Junior doctors strike: Cameron says withdrawal of emergency care 'not right' - live | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| 11.54am BST | |
| 11:54 | |
| No junior doctors have turned up for work at Hammersmith hospital today, this registrar claims. | |
| Site managers @ImperialNHS confirming: no #juniordoctors in hospital and #EmergencyCover safe. #timetotalkjeremy pic.twitter.com/SHm13euI1U | |
| 11.54am BST | |
| 11:54 | |
| Ben White, who resigned yesterday live on TV joined the picket at Newham General hospital. | |
| White, 33, now former gastroenterologist: "If you believe in patient's safety you are against this contract" pic.twitter.com/7PVnyYlTsD | |
| 11.46am BST | |
| 11:46 | |
| Junior doctors have been receiving messages of support – and donations – from around the world. | |
| More than 1,000 people have raised £23k to support the #juniordoctors on JustGiving #poweredbypeople pic.twitter.com/cd58ZzG0kE | |
| Updated | |
| at 11.53am BST | |
| 11.36am BST | |
| 11:36 | |
| Strike is 'not right' – David Cameron | |
| The prime minister has given his backing to Jeremy Hunt’s handling of the dispute with junior doctors. | |
| He told ITV News: | |
| There is a good contract on the table with a 13.5% increase in basic pay – 75% of doctors will be better off with this contract. | |
| It’s the wrong thing to do to go ahead with this strike, and particularly to go ahead with the withdrawal of emergency care – that is not right. | |
| Updated | |
| at 11.52am BST | |
| 11.34am BST | |
| 11:34 | |
| Doctors on the picket line at Royal Oldham hospital have received a message of support – and some appropriately named chocolates to keep them going – from a local primary school. | |
| Teachers and doctors standing strong together, thank you Knowsley Juniors! @TheBMA @johannmalawana pic.twitter.com/5dTOgFh2E3 | |
| Updated | |
| at 11.52am BST | |
| 11.29am BST | |
| 11:29 | |
| This card from a former junior doctor who quit the profession in December – “Couldn’t take it anymore” – was sent to a picket line in central London. | |
| So sad to receive this at St Thomas picket. Thank you so much for the support. #JuniorDoctorsStrike @STRJDC @TheBMA pic.twitter.com/iXHYWYbDpg | |
| Updated | |
| at 11.50am BST | |
| 11.21am BST | 11.21am BST |
| 11:21 | 11:21 |
| Frances Perraudin | Frances Perraudin |
| Nusiba Taufik, a junior doctor in her first year of training, has been on the picket line outside the Royal Liverpool University hospital during all of the four previous strikes. Frances Perraudin has been talking to her. | Nusiba Taufik, a junior doctor in her first year of training, has been on the picket line outside the Royal Liverpool University hospital during all of the four previous strikes. Frances Perraudin has been talking to her. |
| “It’s taken us a while to get to this point and a lot of us were nervous about the fact that it was a full walk-out, but the consultants reassured us that everyone was going to be safe,” she said. | “It’s taken us a while to get to this point and a lot of us were nervous about the fact that it was a full walk-out, but the consultants reassured us that everyone was going to be safe,” she said. |
| “The strike is only until 5pm, so I’m sure they can hold the reins until then. Obviously they are the most senior doctors in the hospital and they have the most clinical knowledge and management skills, so we were all reassured by that.” | “The strike is only until 5pm, so I’m sure they can hold the reins until then. Obviously they are the most senior doctors in the hospital and they have the most clinical knowledge and management skills, so we were all reassured by that.” |
| Taufik says public support doesn’t seem to have waned at all in Liverpool since the first strike. | Taufik says public support doesn’t seem to have waned at all in Liverpool since the first strike. |
| “There were warnings that it would if we went to a full walkout, but we’ve had loads of members of the public come and visit the picket,” she said. “People in Liverpool are obviously more politically inclined than other parts of the country, but even national opinion polls suggest most of the public still support the strike.” | |
| Taufik said she was hoping up until the last minute that the strike would be called off. | |
| “Yesterday when Hunt came out to do his speech we were all still in work waiting for an announcement, possibly to stop the strike,” she added. “We were all really hoping that it wouldn’t come to this … [Hunt] obviously realises that if we were to have a proper public debate he wouldn’t come out of it very well.” | |
| Updated | |
| at 11.49am BST | |
| 11.21am BST | 11.21am BST |
| 11:21 | 11:21 |
| William Hill is offering odds of 11-10 that Jeremy Hunt will cease to be in the job before the end of 2016. | |
| “Mr Hunt is taking a firm line over the doctors’ strike which could ultimately cost him what he has already called his ‘last big job in politics’,” said the bookmaker’s spokesman, Graham Sharpe. | |
| Updated | |
| at 11.47am BST | |
| 11.15am BST | 11.15am BST |
| 11:15 | 11:15 |
| Damien Gayle | Damien Gayle |
| So a lady fell down in front of me in the street and I've had to take her to A&E. Treatment fast and efficient despite #JuniorDoctorsStrike | So a lady fell down in front of me in the street and I've had to take her to A&E. Treatment fast and efficient despite #JuniorDoctorsStrike |
| 11.08am BST | 11.08am BST |
| 11:08 | 11:08 |
| Alessio Perrone, at Newham hospital, in London, for the Guardian, has been speaking to Eva Tan, a junior doctor for care for the elderly. She said: | Alessio Perrone, at Newham hospital, in London, for the Guardian, has been speaking to Eva Tan, a junior doctor for care for the elderly. She said: |
| I’m a mother, a woman, and I work part-time. I’m already working long hours – often without the time to eat or go to the toilet – without a break. I would be affected greatly [by the new contract]. | I’m a mother, a woman, and I work part-time. I’m already working long hours – often without the time to eat or go to the toilet – without a break. I would be affected greatly [by the new contract]. |
| People must know that there are still more doctors in hospitals today than during bank holidays. We aren’t covered during annual leave, and hospitals are understaffed. There are more and more gaps in the rotas at Newham general hospital. It’s a big problem. I’ve worked in Germany as well, and there we were always covered. | People must know that there are still more doctors in hospitals today than during bank holidays. We aren’t covered during annual leave, and hospitals are understaffed. There are more and more gaps in the rotas at Newham general hospital. It’s a big problem. I’ve worked in Germany as well, and there we were always covered. |
| If [Jeremy] Hunt wants to have a real seven-day NHS he should improve emergency care. This plan about elective care doesn’t make sense, it wouldn’t have an impact on it. | If [Jeremy] Hunt wants to have a real seven-day NHS he should improve emergency care. This plan about elective care doesn’t make sense, it wouldn’t have an impact on it. |
| Updated | Updated |
| at 11.12am BST | at 11.12am BST |
| 10.58am BST | 10.58am BST |
| 10:58 | 10:58 |
| Here is audio of the health secretary on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme. He said that health secretaries are never popular but “what history judges is did you take the tough and difficult decisions that enable the NHS to deliver high quality care for patients”. | Here is audio of the health secretary on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme. He said that health secretaries are never popular but “what history judges is did you take the tough and difficult decisions that enable the NHS to deliver high quality care for patients”. |
| 10.56am BST | 10.56am BST |
| 10:56 | 10:56 |
| Some health professionals have responded to a Guardian callout for their views. Here’s a sample of what they said. | Some health professionals have responded to a Guardian callout for their views. Here’s a sample of what they said. |
| Medical HR manager, Lancashire | Medical HR manager, Lancashire |
| I think the British Medical Association (BMA) has muddled the dispute with a much broader issue regarding privatisation and funding. Having worked with junior doctors and their contracts for over 20 years, this contract reduces hours universally, provides better safeguards and for those who work the hardest, and offers significant pay increases. The dispute has also been mishandled by Jeremy Hunt, but the Department of Health is right to proceed with the terms, having made concessions along the way, not replicated by the BMA. | I think the British Medical Association (BMA) has muddled the dispute with a much broader issue regarding privatisation and funding. Having worked with junior doctors and their contracts for over 20 years, this contract reduces hours universally, provides better safeguards and for those who work the hardest, and offers significant pay increases. The dispute has also been mishandled by Jeremy Hunt, but the Department of Health is right to proceed with the terms, having made concessions along the way, not replicated by the BMA. |
| Ben Norris, junior doctor, general medicine, south England | Ben Norris, junior doctor, general medicine, south England |
| I’m concerned that some of my colleagues joining the strike are doing so without having studied the proposed terms in detail. It’s extremely worrying how many junior doctors I’ve spoken to are either wrong or misinformed about basic aspects of a contract they purport to oppose. I’m also worried. How much further will this go? I cannot countenance an indefinite walkout. | I’m concerned that some of my colleagues joining the strike are doing so without having studied the proposed terms in detail. It’s extremely worrying how many junior doctors I’ve spoken to are either wrong or misinformed about basic aspects of a contract they purport to oppose. I’m also worried. How much further will this go? I cannot countenance an indefinite walkout. |
| District nurse, community, Derbyshire | District nurse, community, Derbyshire |
| Although I may not fully agree with the potential impact on patients (and nurses who will be bearing the weight), they are doing this on principle for the benefit of all NHS staff. If the precedent for reducing unsocial hours is set, it would be catastrophic for nurses – we would see a lot more leave the profession, or their jobs to become agency nurses. | Although I may not fully agree with the potential impact on patients (and nurses who will be bearing the weight), they are doing this on principle for the benefit of all NHS staff. If the precedent for reducing unsocial hours is set, it would be catastrophic for nurses – we would see a lot more leave the profession, or their jobs to become agency nurses. |
| Updated | Updated |
| at 11.07am BST | at 11.07am BST |
| 10.54am BST | 10.54am BST |
| 10:54 | 10:54 |
| JK Rowling has backed the striking junior doctors on Twitter: | JK Rowling has backed the striking junior doctors on Twitter: |
| Doctors who have been loyal 2 the NHS for years rather than chase £ abroad don't deserve to be accused of greed. https://t.co/E9oLRyqiaI | Doctors who have been loyal 2 the NHS for years rather than chase £ abroad don't deserve to be accused of greed. https://t.co/E9oLRyqiaI |
| Every doctor I know fears making a mistake above all else. This contract spreads the same resources more thinly. https://t.co/E9oLRyqiaI | Every doctor I know fears making a mistake above all else. This contract spreads the same resources more thinly. https://t.co/E9oLRyqiaI |
| 10.51am BST | 10.51am BST |
| 10:51 | 10:51 |
| Simran Singh, BMA union leader at Newham general hospital, told Alessio Perrone, at the hospital for the Guardian, that only two junior doctors have chosen to work there today. | Simran Singh, BMA union leader at Newham general hospital, told Alessio Perrone, at the hospital for the Guardian, that only two junior doctors have chosen to work there today. |
| Singh said: | Singh said: |
| As far as I’m aware, only two doctors out of over a hundred are choosing to work today. | As far as I’m aware, only two doctors out of over a hundred are choosing to work today. |
| Previous surveys found the strike would have 78% of support, and of the remaining 22% many were on annual leave or emergency cover. I would be enormously surprised if turnout is below 70-80%. | Previous surveys found the strike would have 78% of support, and of the remaining 22% many were on annual leave or emergency cover. I would be enormously surprised if turnout is below 70-80%. |
| Simran Singh, union leader at Newham General Hospital: "only 2 jr doctors chose to work today" #juniordoctorstrike pic.twitter.com/Y3Sf8zkH5G | Simran Singh, union leader at Newham General Hospital: "only 2 jr doctors chose to work today" #juniordoctorstrike pic.twitter.com/Y3Sf8zkH5G |
| A consultant working in acute care, who did not wish her name or her hospital to be identified, told the Guardian’s Aisha Gani that six out of 16 junior doctors had showed up in the department where she was working: | A consultant working in acute care, who did not wish her name or her hospital to be identified, told the Guardian’s Aisha Gani that six out of 16 junior doctors had showed up in the department where she was working: |
| In obstetrics and gynaecology, eight registrars should be here and we have three today. There should be six senior house officers and we have three. We should have two F1 who haven’t turned up. As a result we have seven consultants acting as the juniors and covering emergency work. | In obstetrics and gynaecology, eight registrars should be here and we have three today. There should be six senior house officers and we have three. We should have two F1 who haven’t turned up. As a result we have seven consultants acting as the juniors and covering emergency work. |
| Updated | Updated |
| at 11.06am BST | at 11.06am BST |