With junior doctors in England set to stage a four-day strike from tomorrow (Tuesday, 11 April), Dr Tim Cooksley, president of the Society for Acute Medicine (SAM), said: “NHS urgent and emergency care remains under immense strain. These pressures result in unacceptable standards of care that are increasingly recognised to cause harm to patients.
“High staff absence levels, burn-out, and low morale have dominated staff landscapes during recent times and continue to do so.
“This not only reflects the work pressures, but a cost of living crisis that, due to successive poor pay awards, is significantly hitting many healthcare workers including junior doctors.
“Junior doctors are highly valued members of acute medical teams and contribute hugely to patient care.
“Junior doctor strike action will potentially, and may continue to, impact urgent and emergency care performance. However, like covid-19, it is not the fundamental cause of the current issues. Urgent plans to increase workforce and capacity are essential.
“During strike actions, acute medical teams will strive to continue to provide high quality care. They will do this, not only because of their passion for achieving the best for patients, but also because almost unanimously they support the reasons and objectives of the strikes.
“We all need our healthcare systems to support our workforce to provide high quality care for patients.”