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  "path": "/news/nhs-striking-junior-doctors-easter-walkout",
  "publishedAt": "2026-04-04T20:30:02.000Z",
  "site": "https://www.gbnews.com",
  "tags": [
    "Donald Trump warns 'time running out' for Iran and threatens to 'rain down all Hell' in ultimatum",
    "Pastor arrested while preaching returns to street for first time in 4 months",
    "Britain's working men's clubs fighting for survival: 'Labour's destroying its own history!'",
    "The GB News Editorial Charter"
  ],
  "textContent": "\n\n\nNHS chiefs are preparing to rely less on resident doctors after a wave of crippling strikes, sparking a fierce backlash ahead of a six-day Easter walkout.\n\nA source close to Sir Jim Mackey, Chief Executive of NHS England, said the current model, which is heavily dependent on doctors in training, is no longer sustainable during repeated industrial action.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n“You cannot run a health service based on an unreliable source of young doctors,” the source said.\n\nThe explosive intervention follows remarks by Sir Jim last week signalling a potential long-term overhaul of how the NHS is staffed, raising fears that striking doctors could be sidelined altogether.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nTRENDING\n\nStories\n\nVideos\n\nYour Say\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nBut critics have hit back furiously. Professor Carl Heneghan, Director of Oxford University’s Centre for Evidence Based Medicine and an urgent care GP, pointed to official data showing the UK already has below the average number of doctors compared to other developed countries.\n\nAnd he warned: “It is wholly unacceptable for ministers and appointed health chiefs to play politics with people’s lives.”\n\nThe dispute comes to a head next week when resident doctors - previously known as junior doctors - are set to walk out for six days from Tuesday.\n\nIt will be the 15th round of strikes since 2023, underlining the scale of a dispute that has dragged on for more than two years with no clear resolution.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nHealth leaders warn the timing - over Easter - risks a perfect storm, with reduced staffing, holiday pressures, and rising patient demand colliding at once.\n\nThe action is expected to cost the NHS more than £250million in lost activity and emergency cover - piling further strain on a system already struggling with waiting lists and staff shortages.\n\nThe comments come after Sir Jim, who leads NHS England, said last week the service must explore ways of becoming less dependent on what he described as a “transient training workforce” - referring to resident doctors.\n\nSpeaking to the Health Service Journal, he said NHS leaders are looking at how to make services less reliant on rotating junior doctors and instead build a more stable workforce of permanent staff.\n\n### LATEST DEVELOPMENTS:\n\n\n\n\n  * Donald Trump warns 'time running out' for Iran and threatens to 'rain down all Hell' in ultimatum\n  * Pastor arrested while preaching returns to street for first time in 4 months\n  * Britain's working men's clubs fighting for survival: 'Labour's destroying its own history!'\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nHe suggested the NHS may need to go further in that direction if strikes continue, amid growing concerns about reliability.\n\nA source close to him said this could mean greater reliance on doctors recruited from overseas, as well as expanding less qualified roles such as physician associates and advanced clinical practitioners.\n\nThese roles typically require less training than fully qualified doctors and are increasingly used to carry out routine clinical work such as taking blood, ordering tests and supporting patient care.\n\nCritics, however, warn such a shift risks papering over deeper staffing shortages rather than fixing them.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nThe strike was called after the British Medical Association (BMA) rejected a government pay offer worth up to 7.1 per cent for this year.\n\nHealth Secretary Wes Streeting blasted the planned action as: “Unnecessary and damaging.”\n\nPrime Minister Keir Starmer said doctors had “recklessly” walked away from a deal after months of negotiations.\n\nThe Government says the offer would have taken total pay rises for resident doctors to around 35 per cent over three years, with some earning more than £100,000.\n\nMinisters argue this would place doctors among the better-paid public sector workers - a claim hotly disputed by unions.\n\nThe BMA insists the offer is not what it appears. Dr Jack Fletcher, chair of its resident doctors committee, said: “Ministers effectively moved the goalposts on the deal at the last minute.”\n\nHe warned that spreading pay increases over a longer period meant: “At best, [pay] barely treads water.”\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nHe also accused the Government of using workforce pressures as a bargaining tool, saying:“Removing potential doctors’ posts at a time when corridor care and GP queues are already putting the NHS under pressure is clearly bad for patients.”\n\nUnion leaders say they remain open to talks - but only if a “credible” offer is put forward.\n\nExperts say the row has exposed long-standing weaknesses in the NHS workforce.\n\nProfessor Heneghan pointed to official data showing the UK has around three doctors per 1,000 people, below the average for many comparable countries.\n\nHe said the NHS faces a significant shortfall, with tens of thousands more doctors needed to reach European levels.\n\nOxford University public health expert Dr Tom Jefferson said: “Tell me how you are going to run a service without juniors?”\n\nHe added: “This is what you get when you put accountants and bureaucrats in charge of a health service. No coal-face time - no understanding.”\n\nSir Jim’s remarks point to a potentially significant shift in how the NHS is run if the dispute drags on.\n\nSome hospital leaders have told NHS England that services have operated differently during strike periods, with consultants and senior clinicians stepping in to maintain core care.\n\nHowever, Sir Jim has also acknowledged that a “pipeline” of future consultants is essential, highlighting the risk of undermining long-term staffing.\n\nAny move towards a more “blended” workforce is expected to involve greater use of nurses, paramedics, pharmacists and other clinical staff alongside doctors - a change that could reshape the frontline of the NHS.\n\nDespite the escalating rhetoric, negotiations are continuing behind the scenes in a bid to avert further disruption.\n\nBMA’s Dr Fletcher said: “We believe there is a deal there to be done… and we are seeking to talk once again with the Government with every intention of achieving a meaningful outcome.”\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n**Our Standards: The GB News Editorial Charter**",
  "title": "NHS to sideline striking junior doctors as Easter walkout threatens chaos"
}