Junior doctors begin ‘longest strike’ in UK’s history

London, The Gulf Observer: Hospital doctors in England will stage the biggest strike in the history of the UK’s state-funded National Health Service, prompting fears for patient safety.

The unprecedented five-day stoppage starting on Thursday over pay and staffing is the latest in eight months of industrial action across the NHS, which is already reeling from a vast pandemic backlog.

Nurses, ambulance staff and other medical staff have all joined picket lines in recent months, adding to pressures on patient appointments.

The industrial action by junior doctors — those below consultant level — is due to begin at 7:00 am (0600 GMT) and last until 7:00 am on Tuesday.

It comes against a background of walk-outs across the economy from train drivers to lawyers over the past year as the UK battles a crippling cost-of-living crisis.

Senior hospital doctors, known as consultants, in England will also begin a 48-hour strike on July 20, with radiographers following suit from July 25.

The bitter row between junior doctors and the government has seen them call for their 2008-9 pay levels to be restored — something the government says would mean an average pay award of about 35 percent.