English doctors go on strike over pay, conditions amid rising flu hospitalisations
Doctors start a five-day strike in England after rejecting a pay offer, while the National Health Service warns hospitals face record flu admissions this December
Doctors in England have begun a five-day strike due to dispute over pay and working conditions amid the country's National Health Service (NHS) warning over surging flu cases.
In their latest action over pay, thousands of resident doctors began another walkout on Wednesday following what the British Medical Association (BMA) called "the continuing failure of the government to make a credible offer on jobs or pay."
This came after doctors rejected a recently revised offer put forward by the government, the BMA stated on Monday.
The Department of Health offered measures, including increasing the number of new speciality training posts from 1,000 to 4,000 over the next three years, as well as a pledge to bring forward emergency legislation in the new year to prioritise UK medical graduates for these posts.
A total of 83 percent of doctors, members of the BMA, rejected the offer and voted to continue planned strike action.
Health Secretary Wes Streeting said earlier that a 26 percent pay rise demand over the next few years, on top of last year's 28.9 percent pay rise, is a "totally unrealistic demand."
Last week, the NHS warned that hospitals in England are facing a "worst case scenario" in December amid "super flu" surge, saying an average of 2,660 patients per day were hospitalised with flu in the first week of December, the highest ever for this time of year and 55 percent up from the week before.