Nurses strikes may ‘hit the end of the road this week’ after thousands fewer joined walkout
Nurse strikes could ‘come to an end this week’ after thousands less joined the latest strike
Support for union action among junior doctors appears to have fallen after thousands less joined the latest strike.
More than 5,500 fewer junior doctors walked out each day than during their first wave of union action.
And the Royal College of Nursing admitted for the first time that its union action ‘could reach the end of the road this week’.
Health bosses were forced to cancel 108,602 appointments and surgeries when junior doctors withdrew care for three days last week.
It brought the total number of postponements due to strike action by doctors in training, nurses and physiotherapists since December to 651,232.
Support for union action among junior doctors appears to have fallen after thousands less joined the latest strike
Health bosses were forced to cancel 108,602 appointments and surgeries when junior doctors withdrew care for three days last week (File image)
However, while an average of 28,708 doctors below the rank of consultant took part in strike action every day between March 13 and March 15, this plummeted by a fifth (19.3 percent) to just 23,158 last week.
The figure during the surge from April 11 to April 14 was 26,145. Notably, last week’s peak figure of 24,407 on Wednesday was less than any day during the previous rounds. It suggests that the doctors are getting tired, can no longer afford to lose pay or are afraid that too much free time will affect their career progression.
Meanwhile, consultants and radiographers are being voted on their own union action, which could drag on for months to bring disruption within the NHS.