HOSPITALS BRACED FOR 5 DAYS OF A&E CHAOS
As NHS reels from all-out doctors’ strike and GPs shut for bank holiday weekend...
CASUALTY units are braced for a five- day onslaught from the sick in the wake of the doctors’ strike. Most patients heeded warnings to avoid A&E during this week’s two-day industrial action.
But those who stayed away are now expected to seek treatment and the surge is likely to last until Monday.
Hospitals will be under extra pressure because of the closure of GP surgeries over the bank holiday. Staff must also rearrange 125,000 appointments and operations lost as a result of the all-out strike.
More than 21,000 junior doctors walked out of hospitals yesterday and on Tuesday, the first time they have ever abandoned emergency posts.
With their contract row showing no signs of ending:
More strikes are likely to be announced within weeks;
Jeremy Hunt said doctors did not understand the issues;
Support for the strike showed no sign of wavering;
An Olympic hopeful had a vital operation postponed.
Joyce Robins, of the pressure group Patient Concern, said the situation was very dangerous.
‘With a bank holiday coming up, and GPs closed for three days, I’m really fearful that this backlog could prove lethal,’ she added. ‘Patients will suffer and in the end patients will die. The
MINISTERS caved in over key union reforms last night after a warning that officials could withdraw cash and support for the Government’s campaign to keep Britain in the EU.
Business minister Nick Boles unveiled a humiliating string of concessions on the flagship Trade Union Bill, including dropping a move that would have cost the unions and Labour millions of pounds a year.
Pro-Brussels ministers are desperate for union help in mobilising Labour voters in the June referendum.
Labour sources said yesterday’s climbdown followed private warnings from trade union leaders to ministers that they could not rely on their support in the referendum unless they agreed to neuter the legislation.
The major unions are said to have agreed to provide £1.7million to Labour’s proEU campaign in return for the concessions.
In a further sign of the new accord between No 10 and the union movement, former TUC chief Brendan Barber is today expected to join David Cameron at a campaign event to promote Britain’s EU membership.
A senior Labour source said: ‘The Government was basically challenging [the unions’] right to be involved in political activity at all and yet they wanted their support in the referendum campaign. It was not realistic and they were been told that directly.’ Downing Street yesterday dismissed claims of a backroom deal with the unions and insisted the concessions were a recognition that the Bill had faced numerous defeats in the Lords, where the Government does not have a majority.
‘This is about getting the Trade Union Bill through,’ a spokesman said, adding that the referendum was a ‘separate issue’.
But former Labour minister Kevan Jones said: ‘The climb- down has got nothing to do with the Trade Union Bill, it’s to do with the realisation on behalf of the Prime Minister that he wants millions of trade unionists to vote yes in the EU referendum, he’s going to have to keep them onside.’
Government sources yesterday stressed that they had situation is disastrous and I am appalled that it has come to this.’
Health chiefs were last night drafting in extra staff to cover the next five days.
A spokesman for NHS England said: ‘There is likely to be a knock-on effect from the strike as hospitals get back to normal working, and this could add to the pressures this May bank holiday weekend.
‘But the NHS has been working to ensure sufficient out-of-hospital capacity is in place to meet predicted levels of demand. It’s important the public know how to play their part over the bank holiday – in an emergency they should of course dial 999 or go to A&E.
‘But we would also ask them to make use of NHS Choices and NHS 111 for urgent advice and access to out-of-hours GPs. They should also stock up on their regular medicines and seek advice from their local pharmacist.’
Kevin McGee, chief executive of East Lancashire Hospitals Trust, admitted the effects of the strikes were starting to be felt. ‘This is the fifth action that we’ve seen,’ he told the BBC. ‘Over this last couple of days, we’ve cancelled in excess of 100 planned, elective procedures.
‘If you put that on the back of the activity saved the central plank of the legislation, which will impose minimum turnout thresholds in strike ballots.
The legislation will require unions to achieve at least a 50 per cent turnout for a strike to be deemed legal. And strikes in key public sector services, such as health, education and transport, will also require the backing of at least 40 per cent of those eligible to vote.
But several other key provisions have now been ditched. Ministers had vowed to end a controversial system that allows unions to take money from their members for political campaigning without their active consent.
Much of the money is then passed to Labour, which warned the move would cost the party up to £8million a year. But Mr that we’ve already cancelled, it’s getting to the point where it’s becoming quite difficult going forward. So absolutely the strain is starting to tell with the level of activity that we’ve had to cancel over the previous strikes and this one.’
A spokesman for Croydon Health Services said staff were trying to discharge healthy patients quickly to make way for admissions. She added: ‘As we look forward to the weekend ahead, and conscious of the bank holiday on Monday, we have plans in place to manage the coming five days.’
A spokesman for Rotherham Hospital said: ‘We are planning to have some addi- tional medical staff in over the weekend to deal with extra demand.’
The bitter row between ministers and the British Medical Association over the junior doctor contracts, which will see them working more weekends, for less money, continues.
Health Secretary Mr Hunt said: ‘The problem we had is that the BMA are not prepared to sit round and discuss this in a reasonable way. Many doctors don’t actually understand the contents of the new con- Boles said the new ‘opt-in’ system would apply only to new union members and would be phased in following a 12-month ‘transitional period’.
Ministers had already climbed down over attempts to scrap the ‘check off’ system which means many trade union members have their subscription deducted from their salaries.
Mr Boles insisted the amendments were not fundamental, adding: ‘Our manifesto commitment suggested that we would want to extend the principle of opt-in for trade union members and we believe that the revised provision meets that commitment.
‘In future all new members of trade unions will have to make an active choice to contribute to the political fund through an active opt in.’
‘Make an active choice’ ‘Insulting and patronising’
tract and nor do they understand how hard the Government has worked to try to reach an accommodation and that is a great tragedy.’
A BMA spokesman said in reply: ‘The suggestion that tens of thousands of junior doctors are misinformed is insulting and patronising, but junior doctors have come to expect nothing less from the Health Secretary.’
Johann Malawana, who chairs the BMA junior doctors committee, last night wrote to Mr Hunt urging him to lift his threat to impose the contract.
He said: ‘What happens next is in the Government’s hands. It cannot continue to ignore the tens of thousands of junior doctors opposed to this contract and who want to end this dispute through talks.’
The strike had 78 per cent support. Casualty admissions fell by around 0 per cent – with most patients not in need of urgent treatment thought to have stayed away.
Dr Anne Rainsberry, national incident director for NHS England, said: ‘We’re not going to pretend the last two days have been easy but the NHS has remained open to business for patients.
‘The strike has undoubtedly increased pressure on a service already facing increasing demand and has led to the highly regrettable cancellation of needed care for well over 100,000 patients.’