Strikes’ ‘significant effect on hospitals’
Region was ‘disproportionally affected’
HEALTH: A wave of strikes by junior doctors during a protracted dispute with the government had a “significant impact” on hospital care across the country.
A study into the effects of the dispute in 2016 on NHS hospitals found that the Yorkshire and Humber were disproportionately affected.
A WAVE of strikes by junior doctors during a protracted dispute with the government had a “significant impact” on hospital care across the country, new analysis has found.
A study into the effects of the dispute in 2016 on NHS hospitals found that the Yorkshire and Humber region was “disproportionately” affected by the industrial action.
Yorkshire and Humber had a drop in A&E visits of eight per cent during the strike, the biggest fall in the country, according to a regional analysis. Outpatient appointment cancellations rose by 65 per cent.
But there was no increase in the number of patient deaths, according to research by experts from Imperial College London.
Their report said: “Regional analysis showed that services in the Yorkshire and the Humber region were disproportionately more affected by the industrial action.
“Industrial action by junior doctors during early 2016 caused a significant impact on the provision of healthcare provided by English hospitals.”
The dispute over contract changes came to an end in November 2016 when junior doctors called off the threat of future action.
Researchers examined the impact of the walk-outs in the first four months of 2016.
In each month the junior doctors, represented by the British Medical Association (BMA), engaged in industrial action with a series of 24 or 48-hour strikes, culminating in a two-day strike that included the withdrawal of emergency services.
Researchers compared hospital activity during the week of each of the strikes with that from the preceding and following weeks.
Their study, published in the journal BMJ Open, focused on numbers of admissions, outpatient appointments and A&E attendances.
The report said: “Significant increases in outpatient appointment cancellations by hospitals were paired with decreases in admitted patients and A&E visits.
Across the four strikes, there were 31,651 fewer admissions, 23,895 fewer A&E attendances and 173,462 fewer outpatient appointments than usual.
Additionally, 101,109 more outpatient appointments were cancelled by hospitals than expected, they added. But the study found no “measurable change” in the number of deaths.
The 26-27 April strike, where emergency services were also affected, showed the largest impacts on regular service, the authors found.
A BMA spokeswoman said: “The decision to take industrial action was based on genuine concerns from junior doctors about the impact of proposed changes on patient care.
“In recent weeks we’ve seen large numbers of patients being affected by the cancellation of operations because the health service is unable to cope with demand. This highlights the scale of the pressure the NHS is operating under, which was a key concern of junior doctors during the dispute.”
Services in the Yorkshire were disproportionately affected A report by Imperial College London