Cheltenham General Hospital’s accident and emergency department will continue operating after union leadership halted an impending work action by resident physicians. The facility had been scheduled to close at 20:00 on Sunday and transition to a minor injury and illness unit through Friday, but those plans were abandoned when the British Medical Association announced the suspension of the strike.
The government presented a revised pay proposal that prompted the union to call off the four-day walkout, which had been scheduled to begin at 07:00 on Monday and conclude at 06:59 on Friday. This action would have marked the 16th strike in an extended dispute over physician compensation. The Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust acknowledged that the last-minute cancellation would still cause some service disruption, noting that appointments scheduled for Monday could not be reinstated in time. However, the trust stated it was working to reorganize appointments from Tuesday through Thursday.
Dr Jack Fletcher, who chairs the BMA’s resident doctor committee, characterized the new offer as addressing key concerns about employment levels and pay erosion. He indicated that tens of thousands of resident doctors would now participate in a referendum to decide whether to accept the proposal. Fletcher cautioned that if doctors voted against the offer, further escalated action would be planned for the following month.
Health Secretary James Murray described the revised proposal as an opportunity to resolve longstanding disputes. Murray stated that the current economic circumstances prevented a larger pay increase for the year but noted that progress had been made in areas including training positions and workplace conditions. The NHS trust advised patients to attend appointments as originally planned unless they received direct contact from the hospital.
Article Attribution | Read More at Article Source
Article summary produced by Claude AI