Hospital leaders have called for resident doctors and the Government to start talks with external mediators, saying that the dispute has reached an “impasse”.
Resident doctors in England have begun a five-day walkout in a row over pay and jobs.
Hopes that the strike could be averted at the last minute were dashed on Monday when members of the British Medical Association (BMA) rejected a fresh offer from the Government.
Ministers have accused the union of staging the strike at a time that would “inflict as much damage as they can” on the NHS amid rising levels of flu in hospitals.
Daniel Elkeles, chief executive of NHS Providers, told Times Radio: “What’s so frustrating is that this strike feels no closer to being resolved than it ever has been, and it’s getting more and more acrimonious as well.
“We seem to have reached an impasse – it seems quite incredulous to us that the Government who put such a good offer on the table last week could have been met with such a resounding ballot from the doctors saying ‘we don’t agree’.
“So it feels like we need to do something to unlock this, and if external mediation is the thing that will unlock it, then please, can we get on and do it?
“Because there is a small window after this strike where before the residents reballot, and where you could say you don’t need to reballot, because we’ve actually managed to reach an agreement, and we need to get to that point.”
Mr Elkeles added: “This is the 14th time the resident doctors have gone out on strike, and yes, the NHS is getting more and more adept at covering – (but) it’s clear that this time doing it in this week, when there is so much illness in the community, so much flu, the impact is on planned care is going to be even harder.”
The BMA has already granted some medics permission to leave the picket line and return to work in the maternity unit at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust due to “unique and difficult circumstances”.
Hospitals have been told to aim to deliver 95% of usual activity during the strike, though health leaders have conceded this could be “more challenging due to the onset of winter pressures and rising flu”.
Health bosses have urged patients to come forward as usual, but warned that some appointments will “inevitably” need to be rescheduled.
Professor Meghana Pandit, NHS England’s national medical director, said: “These strikes come at an immensely challenging time for the NHS, with record numbers of patients in hospital with flu for this time of year.
“Staff will come together as they always do, going above and beyond to provide safe care for patients and limit disruption, but sadly more patients are likely to feel the impact of this round of strikes than in the previous two – and staff who are covering will not get the Christmas break they deserve with their families.
“It is vital that the public continue to come forward for their appointments over the next few days unless they are contacted by the NHS and told otherwise – but inevitably some appointments will have to be rescheduled.”
Dr Jack Fletcher, chair of the resident doctors committee at the BMA, said: “It is well past the time for ministers to come up with a genuinely long-term plan. If they can simply provide a clear route to responsibly raise pay over a number of years, and enough genuinely new jobs instead of recycled ones, then there need not be any more strikes for the remainder of this government.”
The five-day strike, which started at 7am on Wednesday, will be the 14th by resident doctors since 2023.
