Junior doctors in the Hospital Consultants and Specialists Association (HCSA) have said they will strike for the first time in the union’s history next month in a dispute over pay.
A ballot of training-grade doctors employed by NHS trusts in England in January saw 97.48 per cent vote in favour of striking, on a 74.76 per cent turnout. Announcing a walkout on Wednesday March 15, HCSA president Dr Naru Narayanan said: “Junior doctors have held together patient care amid a spiralling staffing crisis.
“In return for this huge emotional, mental and physical toll they’ve been subjected to a decade of real-terms pay cuts totalling over 26 per cent. Enough is enough.
