onsultants have stated it's “not part of their DNA to be on strike” after NHS leaders warned sufferers might face “severe delays” in the course of the newest spell of business motion.

Senior docs walked out at 7am on Thursday, working on a “Christmas day cover” foundation – which means emergency care will nonetheless be offered – till 7am on Saturday.

NHS England’s nationwide medical director for secondary care Dr Vin Diwakar stated the walkout would “hit the NHS hard” with “almost all routine care being affected” throughout a time when many employees are taking annual depart.

Industrial motion by senior docs exhibits no signal of slowing down; they've already threatened to strike once more for 2 days from September 19 and introduced strikes for October 2, 3 and 4 if the Government continues to refuse talks.

Speaking on the picket line exterior Leeds General Infirmary, guide gynaecologist and British Medical Association (BMA) strike supervisor Tracy Jackson advised the PA news company: “We’re really concerned about the future of the National Health Service, and one of the biggest issues is recruitment and retention of doctors, trainees and consultants.”

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Ms Jackson claims she has watched colleagues “leave, decide to do other things, work in other countries or leave medicine altogether”.

“Our passion is looking after patients,” she added. “I went to medical school 40 years ago and it’s not part of our DNA to be on strike.

“The last thing we wanted to do is be on strike and to be on strike again, to be fair …it’s really demoralising and depressing that our voices aren’t being heard.”

She claims there was “no negotiation” with the Government and “nothing’s happening” regardless of “all the desperation to get into conversation and discussions”.

Ms Jackson stated: “I’m a surgeon, not a politician, and I just have to keep trying. This is the one way that we have because we have to make a stand and try and make our voices heard and this seems to be the only way, so we’re going to keep going.”

The Government has insisted that talks on pay are over after it stated consultants would obtain a 6% rise.

The BMA has condemned the rise as “insulting”, claiming consultants have skilled a “35% pay erosion” over the past 14 years. The union can be calling for reform of the medics’ pay evaluation physique.

Ms Jackson stated it was “sad” that sufferers could be affected by the strike, however claimed the proportion was “small” when in comparison with the “overwhelming waiting lists that already existed”.

It was revealed earlier this month that NHS ready lists had climbed to a file 7.6 million.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak made reducing the determine a prime precedence for his Government at first of 2023 however had beforehand stated strike motion – which has been ongoing throughout the NHS since December 2022 – was making it difficult.

Ms Jackson added: “It’s devastating for us that patients are being inevitably affected by this. But we’re already in a parlous state of affairs with underinvestment in the National Health Service.”

Strike motion over 9 months has led to the cancellation of 839,327 inpatient and outpatient hospital appointments.

If neighborhood and psychological well being figures are included, the overall rises to almost 900,000 – though this doesn't mirror the general variety of precise cancellations, attributable to some duplication of knowledge.

Danny Mortimer, deputy chief govt of NHS Confederation, warned the financial institution vacation strikes “will again have a significant impact on patients”, including that cancelled appointments might quickly attain the “grim milestone” of 1 million.

I do not suppose we might be blamed for NHS ready lists due to a number of days of strike motion. This is the third day of guide strike motion, I feel that will be actually dishonest

But Ms Jackon stated it might be “dishonest” accountable consultants for the rising determine.

“I don’t think we can be blamed for NHS waiting lists because of a few days of strike action. This is the third day of consultant strike action, I think that would be really dishonest,” she stated.

People ought to proceed to make use of 999 for life-threatening emergencies and NHS 111 for different well being issues, officers stated. GP and pharmacies had been largely unaffected.