Resident physicians in the UK have launched strikes during the peak flu season

Junior doctors in the UK officially launched a five-day strike on Wednesday (December 17th).

China News Service reported that doctors in winter clothes took to the streets on Wednesday holding signs such as "Restore doctors' salaries", escalating the long-standing salary dispute once again. This coincides with the rampant flu epidemic, and the National Health Service (NHS) in the UK is facing a double test.

The junior doctors on strike this time account for about half of the total number of doctors in the national healthcare service system. Personnel from both emergency and non-emergency departments have left their posts, and the relevant work has been temporarily taken over by senior doctors. The government and the British Medical Association held talks on the eve of the strike. The government said the meeting was "constructive", but failed to reach a consensus sufficient to call off the strike.

The UK is currently experiencing the peak of the flu season. In the past week, the number of flu hospitalizations has soared, with an average of 2,660 hospitalizations per day, setting a new record for the same period in history, and the epidemic has yet to peak.

British media said that under the double impact of the flu and the strike, the healthcare system is approaching the "worst-case scenario", non-emergency services will be significantly affected, and the discharge arrangements for patients before Christmas may also be disrupted. Medical staff who replace the strike will also miss the Christmas holiday.

Behind the strike lies a persistent and intractable salary dispute. The UK's Health Secretary, Christine Streiting, stressed that the total salary increase for junior physicians over the past three years has been close to 30%. Striting accused the strike of being "selfish, irresponsible and dangerous", with the timing aimed at maximizing disruption to the operation of the NHS.

However, the British Medical Association countered that due to inflation, the actual income of residents is still one fifth lower than that in 2008. The government's previous proposals, such as increasing training positions and reimbursing examination fees, were rejected by 83% of its members as they did not involve substantial salary improvements.

Fletcher, the chairperson of the British Medical Association's Resident Physicians Committee, has called on the government to introduce a long-term salary recovery plan and create new positions instead of "repackaging" existing jobs.