Harrogate District Hospital could face a further six months of disruption after junior doctors voted to extend their mandate for strike action.
It’s been over a year since junior doctors began striking over pay and this week 98% of British Medical Association union members backed further walkouts on a turnout of 62%.
Most recently, junior doctors at the Lancaster Park Road hospital staged two separate walk-outs between December 20-23 and January 3-9.
The strikes have had a “draining impact”, according to the boss of Harrogate & District NHS Foundation Trust.
Junior doctors are qualified doctors in clinical training and they make up nearly half of the medical workforce in England.
The BMA says while workload and waiting lists are at record highs, pay has effectively been cut by more than a quarter since 2008.
The union is asking the government for a 35% pay rise, but health ministers have described the demands as unreasonable.
A spokesperson for Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust said the hospital hopes a deal can be reached before future strikes take place.
They said:
“Whilst we respect the decision made by BMA junior doctors to extend their mandate for industrial action, we hope that the BMA and government can have effective discussions which will lead to a solution before further strikes are undertaken.
“Should further industrial action take place we will continue to manage the disruption to ensure our patients are safe during the strike, any impact on patient care is kept to a minimum and emergency services continue to operate as normal.
“We value our staff and know that junior doctors do not want to be striking. We hope a breakthrough can be made soon so that we can continue to focus on delivering high quality care to all those who need it.”
Read more:
- Trading Hell: ‘Report crime so we can cut crime’, says BID manager
- Reform UK announces Easingwold and Wetherby parliamentary candidate
Working on Christmas Day: Harrogate taxi driver
Not all heroes wear capes, and while most of us are tucking into our turkey spare a thought for those who are still working on Christmas Day.
Kevin O’Boyle, the owner of Central Taxis in Harrogate, says he has worked every Christmas Day except three in the last 56 years.
Mr O’Boyle may therefore appear more likely to wear a Grinch outfit than a Santa hat on the big day, but he certainly has that special Christmas spirit inside.
He is semi-retired but always steps up to the plate when needed. And he is rarely more needed than on Christmas Day.
Central Taxis has a contract with Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust as well as Yorkshire Ambulance Service.
Read more:
- North Yorkshire is week behind London’s covid surge, health official warns
- ‘Terrifying but rewarding’: Harrogate home carer reflects on another covid year
So when public transport stops on Christmas Day, NHS staff turn to taxis to get them to work. Mr O’Boyle told the Stray Ferret:
“There are quite a number of NHS staff who rely on public transport so when that stops they turn to us for help.
“Not only do we take NHS staff to work but we also do other vital work. Like last Christmas, I was picking up drugs for the hospital from Manchester.”
He may have regrets about missing Christmas with his four children but Mr O’Boyle feels a sense of duty to the NHS so he is willing to make the sacrifice.
So when you are celebrating tomorrow spare a thought for those in the Harrogate district who are working.
