Doctors have now spent 700 hours on strike after taking their devastating walkout tally to 22 days since March
- Trainee medics will end their latest devastating three-day walkout at 7am today
- BMA will order junior doctors and consultants off wards again on October 2
A terminally ill cancer patient has spoken of her anger as junior doctors and consultants reach nearly 700 hours of strike action.
The trainee medics will end their latest three-day walkout at 7am today, taking their devastating tally to 22 days since March.
Their senior colleagues have picketed for six days, including Wednesday when they staged a joint strike with junior doctors for the first time.
The British Medical Association will order junior doctors and consultants off wards again for three days from October 2, to coincide with the Conservative Party conference in Manchester.
Industrial action – described as ‘callous’ by Health Secretary Steve Barclay – has now lasted a total of 696 hours.
The trainee medics will end their latest three-day walkout at 7am today, taking their devastating tally to 22 days since March (Pictured – Junior doctors and consultants organised by the BMA are joined by members of the UNITE trade union on September 20)
Health Secretary Steve Barclay (pictured) has described the industrial action as ‘callous’
Around a million appointments and operations are thought to have been cancelled over this period, with some patients delayed multiple times.
It comes as NHS waiting lists stand at a record high of 7.7million.
A cancer patient given months to live has spoken of her anger after her chemotherapy was delayed.
Flora White, 51, was due to see a specialist at Kettering General Hospital, Northamptonshire, on Wednesday ahead of her fourth round of therapy on Thursday.
Flora White, 51, was due to see a specialist at Kettering General Hospital, Northamptonshire, on Wednesday ahead of her fourth round of therapy on Thursday
But she now has to wait until October 2 for her appointment, adding extra ‘worry and stress’.
Ms White, a mother of two, said cancer patients and patients suffering with serious conditions ‘shouldn’t be affected’ by industrial action, adding: ‘It’s our health at the end of the day.’
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