Junior doctors’ NHS strikes are preventing elderly patients from seeking the help they need, charity warns

Strikes by junior doctors are stopping older patients from seeking the help they need, a charity has warned.

Age UK said it was 'deeply concerned' about the risk to the health of older people posed by the longest ever NHS strike.

Coinciding the strikes with the busiest time of year will make it “difficult to ensure safe and effective care for all who need it,” the report said.

Paul Farmer, the charity's chief executive, urged a return to negotiations: 'We are very concerned that older people who may be feeling unwell may no longer be able to seek the care they need due to the strikes.

'We are increasingly hearing from older people, who are already struggling to access the help they need, but are now concerned about ongoing strikes for them and their families.'

One in three surgeries will be canceled across England this week to ease the six-day strike, which ends at 7am on Tuesday.

Officials have warned it will continue to have a 'severe impact in the weeks to come' as the NHS struggles with the pressures of flu, Covid and staff illness.

The strike action has disrupted 1.2 million appointments and operations since it started in December 2022. The British Medical Association (BMA) union wants a 35 percent pay rise for trainee doctors, which they say would restore their real earnings to 2008 levels.

But the government says this is unaffordable and is offering a 3 percent pay increase, on top of an average increase of 8.8 percent for the 2023-2024 period.

Dr. Robert Laurenson and Dr Vivek Trivedi, of the BMA's junior doctors committee, said an expected 'final offer' had not materialised.

In a statement they said: 'All we need is a credible offer to make to members so we can call off these strikes.' Health Minister Victoria Atkins said: 'I urge the BMA's junior doctors committee to call off their strikes and return to the negotiating table.'