Harrogate District Hospital could face a further six months of disruption after junior doctors voted to extend their mandate for strike action.
Harrogate hospital could face six more months of strikes 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.”By Thomas Barrett, Local Democracy Reporter Read more local stories from Your Harrogate here.
Light up a Life service returns to children's hospice
Ripon Food and Gift Fair to return tomorrow
Roads around Ripon market square to reopen following resurfacing
Italian restaurant in Harrogate named among UK's top 100
Trains struck 97 objects in past year – with some items 'deliberately' placed on tracks
Ripon businesses set to host late night shopping event
Harrogate woman with MND creates charity recipe calendar
How Harrogate health and wellbeing services have helped transform lives
Harrogate Food and Drink Festival to return to Ripley for sixth year
New denture clinic opens in Harrogate
Harrogate groups granted share of Harrogate Rotary legacy fund
Harrogate Neighbours annual ball raises over £19,000
Harrogate street rangers cover 5,000 square metres with deep cleans
Former Harrogate teacher to officiate student's big day
Lauren Doherty educates pupils on road safety as part of national campaign
Harrogate's Rachel Daly scores 50th goal for Aston Villa
Ready, Steady, Cook competition raises £6,000 for children’s cancer
Police search for man following shop theft in Bilton
Harrogate hotel's loos inspire artists' exhibition
Harrogate MP opens 2,500th case since taking office
