NHS consultants and junior doctors in England have started their longest ever joint strike action in an escalation of their long running pay row with the government. It is reported that more than one million appointments have had to be rescheduled since consultants and junior doctors began their strike action earlier this year. In August, […]
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The crumbling concrete that has closed schools over fears of collapse is also in hospitals and potentially millions of homes. The problem of crumbling concrete has been known about for years. In 2018 an NHS boss called RAAC – reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete – a “ticking time bomb”. However, the issue has hit the headlines […]
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The government is turning to the private sector to cut record waiting lists in the biggest expansion of private capital in the NHS since Tony Blair’s New Labour government. NHS England will be able to perform almost 750,000 more checks and tests through 13 new “one-stop-shop” diagnostic centres – more than half of which will […]
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A senior doctor has warned that ongoing NHS strikes are setting the health service up for a “terrifying” winter with a severe flu outbreak forecast and record waiting lists creating a “terrible cocktail” for patients and staff. President of the Society for Acute Medicine Dr Tim Cookley criticised the government’s “intransigence” for refusing to negotiate […]
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The UK’s capital has been warned it faces a major measles outbreak that could result in thousands of people being hospitalised and dozens of deaths because of low vaccination rates. Analysis by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said London risks an outbreak of between 40,000 and 160,000 cases of measles without an improvement in […]
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The 72-hour strike by junior doctors demanding pay restoration to 2008-2009 levels began this morning at 7 am. The previous strike in April translated into the cancellation of nearly 200,000 appointments, with this walkout likely to have a similar impact on patients. Almost all routine procedures will face disruption. NHS England’s medical director told the […]
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The NHS is at breaking point leading medics and health bosses have warned, saying current pressures on the health service are “unbearable and unsustainable”. Prime minister Rishi Sunak has been told to “step up and take immediate action” by the chair of the British Medical Association (BMA) Prof Phil Banfield. Figures show delays in emergency […]
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The Chief of the Defence Staff has said the military is not “spare capacity” to be used as cover during strikes. Plans to deploy 1,200 troops to drive ambulances and staff the country’s borders – alongside 1,000 civil servants – have been confirmed by the government. The cost is estimated to be £5.6 million. Unions […]
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Hospitals have been told to clear beds ahead of the ambulance strike with NHS leaders telling trusts to prepare for “extensive disruption”. Ambulance workers from nine trusts will strike on Wednesday (Dec 21), a day after the second nurses strike by members of the 106-year-old Royal College of Nursing (RCN). Hospital bosses conceded the RCN’s […]
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Ambulance workers in England have voted to strike for the first time in 30 years adding pressure on the NHS with nurses and other NHS staff preparing their industrial action in December. Paramedics, ambulance technicians and 999 call handlers are set to strike before Christmas over pay and staffing levels, Unison announced on Tuesday (Nov […]
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