Patients face SEVEN DAYS of NHS chaos as senior doctors walk out

Patients are facing the worst strike in NHS history after consultants announced a strike right after a strike by junior doctors.

The British Medical Association said today that senior medics will take 48 hours off work next month.

The move had 86 percent support from those who voted. The strikes will last seven days and are expected to result in the loss of hundreds of thousands of appointments and procedures.

The announcement came after the Royal College of Nursing stopped its own union action.

Only 43 percent of members voted — well below the legal threshold of 50 percent. But up to 34,000 consultants, earning an average of £128,000 a year, will now leave on July 20 and 21. Only emergency care is provided, with most routine treatments being scrapped.

Young doctors were reported to be on strike for five days from 07:00 on July 13 to 07:00 on 18 July – the longest strike since the NHS was founded in 1948.

The impact will be even more damaging as there will be only one day before the consultants stop working.

Health chiefs said the ‘double whammy’ would cause widespread disruption to ‘many thousands’ of patients and was a ‘massive risk’ for the NHS to manage.

The combined action is likely to result in the cancellation of more than 300,000 appointments, hampering efforts to clear the record 7.4 million waiting lists.

It is estimated that more than 650,000 routine surgeries and appointments have been postponed since December due to industrial action.

Some consultants covered junior colleagues during recent strikes, reducing their impact – but this cannot happen the other way around.

The BMA said it would continue with the strikes unless the government made a “credible” wage offer it could make to its members.

It claims that take-home pay for consultants in England has fallen by 35 per cent in real terms since 2008/2009.

Consultants last took part in a one-day strike in 2012 due to pension changes. They also staged industrial action in 1975.

Labor health spokesman Wes Streeting described the result of the advisers’ vote as an ‘unmitigated disaster’ and said the risk to patients and the NHS was ‘unacceptable’.

Dr. Vishal Sharma, chairman of the BMA advisory committee, said: ‘It is not too late to avert strikes and the government just needs to come back to us with a credible offer that we can make to our members. But if they refuse, we will take action next month with a heavy heart.’

Dr. Naru Narayanan, president of the Hospital Consultants and Specialists Association, said: ‘The government is drinking in the last chance saloon. It now has a golden opportunity to close a deal and reduce the current high levels of dissatisfaction.

It is also in the patients’ best interests for it to do this, as the NHS needs to remain competitive in order to retain the experienced doctors it has and attract the people we need in the future. This tense situation will not go away on its own.’

Sir Julian Hartley of NHS Providers, representing NHS trusts, said: ‘This is a huge risk for the NHS to manage. These strikes need not continue. There is still time for the government and doctors’ unions to settle their differences and find a way out. The urgency cannot be stressed enough.’

A spokesperson for the Department of Health said: ‘We greatly appreciate the work of NHS advisers and it is disappointing that the BMA advisers have voted to take strike action.

Consultants received a 4.5 per cent pay rise last financial year, taking average earnings to around £128,000, and they will benefit from generous pension tax changes in the budget.

“We urge the BMA to carefully consider the likely impact of any action on patients.”

Rishi Sunak today hosted health chiefs in Downing Street to discuss an NHS staffing plan due to be published later this week.