Junior doctors strike is ‘toughest week NHS faces’ says Providers chiefSource: BBC Breakfast
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00:00 It's going to be really tough. It's a significant moment. It's about the scale and the duration.
00:06 So it's the longest strike we've ever faced. And of course junior doctors are such an important
00:10 part of the NHS. At a time, and this week, you know, I ran a trust for many years and
00:17 it is without doubt the toughest week the NHS faces immediately after the Christmas
00:23 and New Year period because of the pressures, the demands, and of course we've got flu,
00:28 we've got COVID, that will heap a huge amount of pressure on NHS organisations at a time
00:33 when they're working incredibly hard to try and reduce those waiting lists and times for
00:39 patients. So there's going to be an impact on patients that will be significant. The
00:42 vast majority of planned operations, appointments and so on, will have to be stood down. Consultants
00:49 will be covering the work of junior doctors. And of course at a time when there's a lot
00:54 of COVID and flu about, that can affect staff as well as patients. So the challenge of filling
00:59 those rotas will be significant for a lot of organisations.
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