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| Junior doctors' strike day two - live updates | Junior doctors' strike day two - live updates |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| 11.40am BST | |
| 11:40 | |
| Sarah Churchwell | |
| A junior doctor currently on a break from medicine in the US has contacted the Guardian’s Sarah Churchwell about the strike. Namrata Turaga who worked only three as a junior doctor is studying for an MBA degree at Harvard Business school and has been keeping track of events as they unfold. She has been following developments with increasing frustration. | |
| She said: “I needed a break from a system that I felt was not adequately providing the vital clinical training I need to be the best doctor I can be and from a world where I had no choice but to agree to a work schedule that included only 12 day shifts in six months – the rest were evening or night shifts.” | |
| She has been watching colleagues and friends in the UK become “increasingly frustrated with their concerns being ignored or belittled” and was inspired to take classes on negotiations and complex deal making. She wrote a simulation based on the current junior doctors’ contract dispute, the result of which was students with a non-medical background reaching a deal by trading and compromising on issues. | |
| “It has left me wondering, if the Department of Health in the UK is simply choosing not to compromise with the junior doctors,” she said. “I hope that the strike is called off early because the government sees sense and listens to all the Royal Medical Colleges and patient safety organisations that are asking them to get back to the negotiating table. I hope people choose to work with one another, for the sake of fairness and for patients.” | |
| 11.30am BST | |
| 11:30 | |
| Damien Gayle has more on the money striking doctors have collected for a food bank. | |
| Striking junior doctors at Kings College hospital have collected £300 and a pile on non-perishable food to donate to a local food bank. | |
| Lucy Carter, an acute medicine doctor, said: “In the run up to the strike we had a food bank drive on the wards and among the junior doctors to bring in foods or cash donations, and yesterday during the industrial action we had another collection. We are taking it to Southwark food bank because we are all quite aware that this hospital serves some of the most underprivileged boroughs in London - Southwark and Lambeth - and it’s time we did something positive with industrial action. Lots of people on the street have come by to bring us tea or coffee and we are not the people who need it the most.” | |
| 11.26am BST | |
| 11:26 | |
| Hannah Orrell, a trainee surgeon at Kings who had just come off a night shift, tells Damien Gayle that Jeremy Hunt’s new contract would spell the death knell for the health service. | |
| The implications of the contract for me are quite far reaching. I’m hoping that I will be in the NHS for 30 to 40 years and, from what we can see on the NHS frontline, services are already overstretched as it is. When the new contract is imposed it means that five days worth of services will be stretched to seven days, with the same number of staff. We think that not only will this be unfair for us but it will be unsafe for patients. | |
| Orrell said that when she arrived at work at 5pm last night, she found that her department had been well covered. | |
| “We had a consultant for each surgical specialism ... I was in work from 5pm to 8am and heard from the consultants that everything ran smoothly. There were not any concerns over safety. All that was left for me to do was paperwork. I will be in again today from 5pm to 8am. I’m safe in the knowledge that the consultants know where we are, they know our numbers. If anything was to go wrong we are willing to go in. But we are confident that it will be safe and we encourage people to use services if they need to.” | |
| Hannah Orrell, trainee surgeon at Kings: "we are already overstretched" #JuniorDoctorsStrike pic.twitter.com/enDn5CTcPg | |
| 11.02am BST | 11.02am BST |
| 11:02 | 11:02 |
| Denis Campbell | Denis Campbell |
| Will it take a change of health secretary to break the deadlock and finally settle the junior doctors’ dispute? | Will it take a change of health secretary to break the deadlock and finally settle the junior doctors’ dispute? |
| Bill Morgan - who was a special adviser to Andrew Lansley, Jeremy Hunt’s predecessor - thinks it might. | Bill Morgan - who was a special adviser to Andrew Lansley, Jeremy Hunt’s predecessor - thinks it might. |
| “The situation is at a complete stalemate. Jeremy Hunt has the support of Number 10 and the juniors have the support of their consultants. The public have been pretty steadfast in their support of juniors, but that’s been the same since the start – public opinion is neither rallying to their cause nor draining away. In short, neither the BMA nor the government is weak enough to lose. | “The situation is at a complete stalemate. Jeremy Hunt has the support of Number 10 and the juniors have the support of their consultants. The public have been pretty steadfast in their support of juniors, but that’s been the same since the start – public opinion is neither rallying to their cause nor draining away. In short, neither the BMA nor the government is weak enough to lose. |
| “Unless and until something happens to decisively shift the balance the strikes are going to continue. It’s impossible to predict how this might play out. On the one hand, juniors might lose the support of their consultants if a local hospital declares an emergency during strike action and the juniors don’t come in off the picket line. | “Unless and until something happens to decisively shift the balance the strikes are going to continue. It’s impossible to predict how this might play out. On the one hand, juniors might lose the support of their consultants if a local hospital declares an emergency during strike action and the juniors don’t come in off the picket line. |
| “On the other hand, NHS performance might deteriorate so far as a result of strike action that Number 10 pulls the plug. But at the moment neither is on the cards and both side are holding firm. The only other possible route to resolution is a change in the personalities. | “On the other hand, NHS performance might deteriorate so far as a result of strike action that Number 10 pulls the plug. But at the moment neither is on the cards and both side are holding firm. The only other possible route to resolution is a change in the personalities. |
| “There’s an element of the ‘Jeremy and Johann’ show about this, and if either or both move on their replacements might be more dovish and more willing to compromise”, says Morgan, who is now a partner in Incisive Health, a specialist health public affairs firm. | “There’s an element of the ‘Jeremy and Johann’ show about this, and if either or both move on their replacements might be more dovish and more willing to compromise”, says Morgan, who is now a partner in Incisive Health, a specialist health public affairs firm. |
| 10.57am BST | 10.57am BST |
| 10:57 | 10:57 |
| Steven Morris has interviewed a couple of the older junior doctors - doctors below consultant level - on the picket line at the RUH in Bath. | Steven Morris has interviewed a couple of the older junior doctors - doctors below consultant level - on the picket line at the RUH in Bath. |
| James Leggett, 38, re-trained after a career as an academic, dong research in neuroscience and is now an F1 doctor (between medical school and specialist training) currently doing general surgery at the RUH in Bath. | James Leggett, 38, re-trained after a career as an academic, dong research in neuroscience and is now an F1 doctor (between medical school and specialist training) currently doing general surgery at the RUH in Bath. |
| “I’ve always voted, I’ve always read party manifestos but I’ve never felt at the sharp end of a government campaign like this. I think the government has backed itself into a corner. They’ve made promises they can’t fulfil but rather than backing down are intent on pushing through. They need to have a bit less ego and a bit more honesty as well as more compassion for patients and doctors. I think they’d get a lot of credit if they backed down and apologised. I don’t regret re-training. I love medicine. But it’s hard to deal with the day-to-day pummelling were getting. We’re being berated and belittled.” | “I’ve always voted, I’ve always read party manifestos but I’ve never felt at the sharp end of a government campaign like this. I think the government has backed itself into a corner. They’ve made promises they can’t fulfil but rather than backing down are intent on pushing through. They need to have a bit less ego and a bit more honesty as well as more compassion for patients and doctors. I think they’d get a lot of credit if they backed down and apologised. I don’t regret re-training. I love medicine. But it’s hard to deal with the day-to-day pummelling were getting. We’re being berated and belittled.” |
| Junior doctor James Leggett on the picket line at the RUH in Bath. pic.twitter.com/spRjyUVqGx | Junior doctor James Leggett on the picket line at the RUH in Bath. pic.twitter.com/spRjyUVqGx |
| Rebecca Fallaize, 36, has spent longer than most as a junior doctor because she has had two children over the last five years. She believes the “weird structure” of the shift system the government wants to impose will harm patient safety. Fallaize is a specialist bowel cancer surgeon. | Rebecca Fallaize, 36, has spent longer than most as a junior doctor because she has had two children over the last five years. She believes the “weird structure” of the shift system the government wants to impose will harm patient safety. Fallaize is a specialist bowel cancer surgeon. |
| “It’s continuity of care that improves patient safety. The fragmented nature of the proposed contract means that the continuity will be lost. It’s important to see your patient regularly. If you don’t see the patient every day, it’s hard to get that continuity, to build that rapport and have that understanding of how the patient is doing.” | “It’s continuity of care that improves patient safety. The fragmented nature of the proposed contract means that the continuity will be lost. It’s important to see your patient regularly. If you don’t see the patient every day, it’s hard to get that continuity, to build that rapport and have that understanding of how the patient is doing.” |
| Junior doctor Rebecca Fallaize on the picket line at the RUH in Bath. pic.twitter.com/caKfZSaCZh | Junior doctor Rebecca Fallaize on the picket line at the RUH in Bath. pic.twitter.com/caKfZSaCZh |
| 10.49am BST | 10.49am BST |
| 10:49 | 10:49 |
| The strikers at King’s College have been raising money for a food bank in the London borough of Southwark. | The strikers at King’s College have been raising money for a food bank in the London borough of Southwark. |
| Kings College Hospital #juniordoctors collected £300 and all this food for #southwark foodbank #juniordoctorsstrike pic.twitter.com/FbgkoBMn93 | Kings College Hospital #juniordoctors collected £300 and all this food for #southwark foodbank #juniordoctorsstrike pic.twitter.com/FbgkoBMn93 |
| 10.24am BST | 10.24am BST |
| 10:24 | 10:24 |
| Steven Morris | Steven Morris |
| Alex Gates, 29, organiser of the picket line at the RUH in Bath, says the striking doctors are as motivated on day two as they were on day one. He thinks the next move should be for more pressure to be placed on hospital bosses to challenge the government. | Alex Gates, 29, organiser of the picket line at the RUH in Bath, says the striking doctors are as motivated on day two as they were on day one. He thinks the next move should be for more pressure to be placed on hospital bosses to challenge the government. |
| “If 20 chief executives signed a letter calling for the government to think again, I think that would sort it,” he said. | “If 20 chief executives signed a letter calling for the government to think again, I think that would sort it,” he said. |
| Junior doctors' strike - junior doctor Alex Gates at the RUH in Bath. https://t.co/aOxwOE3pnj | Junior doctors' strike - junior doctor Alex Gates at the RUH in Bath. https://t.co/aOxwOE3pnj |
| Lucy Rose Jefferson, 26, who works in the geriatrics department at the RUH in Bath, is in what she calls the “Doomsday camp.” “If the government wins this, they’ll go after the nurses, the physiotherapists, everyone else. It will be the beginning of the end for the NHS.” | Lucy Rose Jefferson, 26, who works in the geriatrics department at the RUH in Bath, is in what she calls the “Doomsday camp.” “If the government wins this, they’ll go after the nurses, the physiotherapists, everyone else. It will be the beginning of the end for the NHS.” |
| Junior doctors' strike. Doctor Lucy Rose Jefferson on the picket line in Bath. https://t.co/ZhaQHN4PHP | Junior doctors' strike. Doctor Lucy Rose Jefferson on the picket line in Bath. https://t.co/ZhaQHN4PHP |
| 10.21am BST | 10.21am BST |
| 10:21 | 10:21 |
| Aisha Gani | Aisha Gani |
| Aisha Gani has been talking to Dolin Bhagawati, a registrar at the national hospital for neurology at Queen Square (central London) who has been a doctor for nine years. | Aisha Gani has been talking to Dolin Bhagawati, a registrar at the national hospital for neurology at Queen Square (central London) who has been a doctor for nine years. |
| He says the specialist hospital he is at has probably 40 junior doctors and about 20 consultants, and at any one time 30 junior doctors. | He says the specialist hospital he is at has probably 40 junior doctors and about 20 consultants, and at any one time 30 junior doctors. |
| “The majority were on strike yesterday - we had four junior doctors working and all consultants were working.” | “The majority were on strike yesterday - we had four junior doctors working and all consultants were working.” |
| He said he’s on strike as “this contact is unsafe and discriminatory and if imposed will worsen staff conditions. It’s not trialled and not evidence based.” | He said he’s on strike as “this contact is unsafe and discriminatory and if imposed will worsen staff conditions. It’s not trialled and not evidence based.” |
| He added: “Nine years as a junior doctor I have worked in three continents - US, India and here. I found here it’s very rare to have worked in a full rota and doctors have gone above and beyond to cover and fill gaps. People have worked illegal shifts. I myself am considering my future here. My wife is Indian and her first thought when she saw my working pattern was that I am being paid less and working harder than I would in India. | He added: “Nine years as a junior doctor I have worked in three continents - US, India and here. I found here it’s very rare to have worked in a full rota and doctors have gone above and beyond to cover and fill gaps. People have worked illegal shifts. I myself am considering my future here. My wife is Indian and her first thought when she saw my working pattern was that I am being paid less and working harder than I would in India. |
| As a consultant neurosurgeon, the average pay here would be £70,000 in U.S it Would be $700,000 (£479,994). In Seattle, my boss was on $4m - so it’s not about money. These are qualified intelligent people who have chosen a vocation. So rather than seeing the effect of this contract we want to negotiate and work with the government and get back to what we want to do and treat patients. Prevention is better than cure.” | As a consultant neurosurgeon, the average pay here would be £70,000 in U.S it Would be $700,000 (£479,994). In Seattle, my boss was on $4m - so it’s not about money. These are qualified intelligent people who have chosen a vocation. So rather than seeing the effect of this contract we want to negotiate and work with the government and get back to what we want to do and treat patients. Prevention is better than cure.” |
| Dolin tells me it's not about the money: As a consultant neurosurgeon he would earn £70k in UK, in U.S. $700,000 pic.twitter.com/IaGk6CaGOl | Dolin tells me it's not about the money: As a consultant neurosurgeon he would earn £70k in UK, in U.S. $700,000 pic.twitter.com/IaGk6CaGOl |
| 9.41am BST | 9.41am BST |
| 09:41 | 09:41 |
| It’s not all support for junior doctors, reports Alessio Perrone at St Mary’s in west London. Some passers-by shout their disapproval. | It’s not all support for junior doctors, reports Alessio Perrone at St Mary’s in west London. Some passers-by shout their disapproval. |
| “Get back to work now. People could die!” one person said. Then a runner: “Shame on you!” And again: “Shame on you!” | “Get back to work now. People could die!” one person said. Then a runner: “Shame on you!” And again: “Shame on you!” |
| Junior doctor Ali Yazdi, who works in the geriatrics department, shouted back that their bosses supported them and are covering for them. He says it’s frustrating when this happens. | Junior doctor Ali Yazdi, who works in the geriatrics department, shouted back that their bosses supported them and are covering for them. He says it’s frustrating when this happens. |
| “I understand some people don’t agree with us, but I wish they stopped to talk to us,” he said. “Instead many just shout and run away. We can’t explain our position.” | “I understand some people don’t agree with us, but I wish they stopped to talk to us,” he said. “Instead many just shout and run away. We can’t explain our position.” |
| At St Mary's, runners shouted: "Get to work now!" "Shame on you!". Jr dr Yazdi says many dont stop to talk to them pic.twitter.com/ZVZG30pmdJ | At St Mary's, runners shouted: "Get to work now!" "Shame on you!". Jr dr Yazdi says many dont stop to talk to them pic.twitter.com/ZVZG30pmdJ |
| 9.36am BST | 9.36am BST |
| 09:36 | 09:36 |
| The numbers of pickets at Royal University hospital in Bath are picking up considerably. | The numbers of pickets at Royal University hospital in Bath are picking up considerably. |
| Picket growing at the RUH in Bath - more than 100 now easily. pic.twitter.com/pIVUAoBRPe | Picket growing at the RUH in Bath - more than 100 now easily. pic.twitter.com/pIVUAoBRPe |
| 9.33am BST | 9.33am BST |
| 09:33 | 09:33 |
| Juniors on the picket line at King’s College say official figures on the number of their colleagues who went to work yesterday are misleading, writes Damien Gayle. | Juniors on the picket line at King’s College say official figures on the number of their colleagues who went to work yesterday are misleading, writes Damien Gayle. |
| According to the hospital press office, six junior doctors turned up to work in emergency departments across the trust - which also includes Princess Royal University hospital. However, despite being asked to do so by the Guardian, the trust did not indicate how many of these were juniors on staff grade contracts. These doctors are not covered by the strike as they are not on training contracts. | According to the hospital press office, six junior doctors turned up to work in emergency departments across the trust - which also includes Princess Royal University hospital. However, despite being asked to do so by the Guardian, the trust did not indicate how many of these were juniors on staff grade contracts. These doctors are not covered by the strike as they are not on training contracts. |
| Chris James, a trainee anaesthetist, said he had spoken to consultants in A&E who told him no trainee doctors had gone to work. | Chris James, a trainee anaesthetist, said he had spoken to consultants in A&E who told him no trainee doctors had gone to work. |
| “Yesterday at Kings A&E there were zero junior doctors. At the Pru (Princess Royal) there were five staff grade doctors. They are specialists who are not on these contracts, they are not involved in this dispute. So overall, across both sites, there were zero junior doctors,” he said. | “Yesterday at Kings A&E there were zero junior doctors. At the Pru (Princess Royal) there were five staff grade doctors. They are specialists who are not on these contracts, they are not involved in this dispute. So overall, across both sites, there were zero junior doctors,” he said. |
| “Today we have got three non-training doctors - not on training contracts - at King’s, and I think it’s the same at the Pru again. That’s come from the consultant body. They were happy that they staffed it safely [yesterday], they had full cover and they had no problems at all.” | “Today we have got three non-training doctors - not on training contracts - at King’s, and I think it’s the same at the Pru again. That’s come from the consultant body. They were happy that they staffed it safely [yesterday], they had full cover and they had no problems at all.” |
| 9.25am BST | 9.25am BST |
| 09:25 | 09:25 |
| Aisha Gani | Aisha Gani |
| Maddy Wells has just finished night shift in intensive care last night at University College hospital and has joined the picket line. She tells Aisha Gani there are eight junior doctors per shift on an average day and two consultants. No junior doctors worked yesterday from 8-5pm and there were six consultants covering. | Maddy Wells has just finished night shift in intensive care last night at University College hospital and has joined the picket line. She tells Aisha Gani there are eight junior doctors per shift on an average day and two consultants. No junior doctors worked yesterday from 8-5pm and there were six consultants covering. |
| “My main reason for striking is despite multiple attempts at negotiation from people in prominent positions with Jeremy Hunt he has failed to listen,” said Wells. | “My main reason for striking is despite multiple attempts at negotiation from people in prominent positions with Jeremy Hunt he has failed to listen,” said Wells. |
| Rosie & Maddy work in intensive care and were on call last night. Usually 8 juniors, yesterday 6 consultants covered pic.twitter.com/MaoQibCbms | Rosie & Maddy work in intensive care and were on call last night. Usually 8 juniors, yesterday 6 consultants covered pic.twitter.com/MaoQibCbms |
| 9.17am BST | 9.17am BST |
| 09:17 | 09:17 |
| An assortment of signs from St Mary’s in Paddington, were numbers are picking up, writes Alessio Perrone. About 20-25 doctors have joined the picket, but they expect it to get much busier after 9.30am, when most surgeries start. | An assortment of signs from St Mary’s in Paddington, were numbers are picking up, writes Alessio Perrone. About 20-25 doctors have joined the picket, but they expect it to get much busier after 9.30am, when most surgeries start. |
| Some of the best signs at St Mary's Hospital #JuniorDoctorsStrike pic.twitter.com/sVCIqZetpW | Some of the best signs at St Mary's Hospital #JuniorDoctorsStrike pic.twitter.com/sVCIqZetpW |
| Updated | Updated |
| at 9.19am BST | at 9.19am BST |