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Roundup: 13,000 operations canceled as thousands of British junior doctors go on strikes

Xinhua, April 27, 2016 Adjust font size:

Thousands of junior doctors in Britain are taking part in the fifth round of industrial action over a long-running dispute over pay and working hours, leaving about 13,000 operations canceled during this week's strikes.

It is the first time that emergency care, including accidents and emergencies, maternity and intensive care, has been withdrawn in the National Health Services' (NHS) 68-year history.

The full withdrawals would take place between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. local time on Tuesday and Wednesday. Senior doctors and other health care staff provided such services over this period.

The key point of the disagreement focuses on a long-running dispute over pay, working hours and patient safety. Negotiations failed between junior doctors and the British government, so the government announced that a new contract would be imposed as from this summer.

Four out of five junior doctors took part on Tuesday, with some hospitals losing up to 90 percent of junior doctors, local media reported.

However, it said most hospitals coped well, while no patient safety incidents were reported. However, about 13,000 operations and 113,000 outpatient appointments have been canceled because of the strikes.

Some patients said they could understand the strikes launched by the junior doctors and supported them, while others who had their treatment postponed said they were negatively affected.

Jeremy Hunt, secretary of state for health, told local media his role was likely to be his "last big job in politics," adding the British government would not be "blackmailed" into dropping its manifesto pledge of improving seven-day services.

Johann Malawana, junior doctors committee chair of the British Medical Association (BMA), a trade union for 170,000 doctors in Britain, said it was is an "incredibly sad day" for doctors, and the rest of society.

"These two days of industrial action mark one of the lowest points in the wonderful history of the NHS. We deeply regret the disruption caused to patients. We offered a simple choice - lift imposition and the strikes would be called off, but unfortunately the health secretary simply refuses to do that," he added. Endit