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British health authority slams longest NHS strike

Xinhua, September 1, 2016 Adjust font size:

British Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt on Thursday called the planned five-day strike by the country's junior doctors "devastating" as around 100,000 operations will be canceled.

The strike will be the longest one in the history of British National Health Service (NHS), one of the world's largest publicly funded health services.

Hunt told BBC that he was not responsible for failed negotiations between the government and the British Medical Association (BMA) and the full withdrawal of labor by junior doctors will lead to "absolute misery" for patients.

The strike is expected to have 100,000 operations canceled and 1 million hospital appointments postponed, according to the official.

Hunt said he understood how hard working the doctors are but stressed that no constructive discussions could be held when the most devastating doctors' strike in NHS history is to be held.

BMA announced a full withdrawal of labor, including emergency cover, between Sept. 12 to Sept. 18, to fight against the weekend working contract imposed on all doctors below consultant level.

Under the new contract, junior doctors who work only occasional week-ends will be paid the same as during the week, even though they will get progressive pay rises the more Saturdays and Sundays they work. Endit