The Liberal Democrats have called for private hospitals to take on NHS patients as part of a new ‘Strike Resilience Plan’ for the NHS, amid fresh industrial action by the British Medical Association.
Under the proposal, the private sector would be mandated by the government to take on patients affected by strike action, to prevent appointments being rescheduled and waiting lists growing.
Private hospitals would be used to provide ‘elective treatments’, meaning planned procedures such as diagnostic tests, scans, outpatient appointments and non-emergency surgeries.
The Lib Dems are also calling for changes to the Government’s agreements with the BMA that would allow striking doctors to be recalled when patient safety is put at risk.
Liberal Democrat Hospitals and Primary Care Spokesperson Jess Brown Fuller MP said:
“People across the country waiting for the treatment they desperately need will be disappointed to hear there’s yet more strikes, having already faced so much disruption in the last few years.
“The Government cannot afford to dither and delay, there is too much at stake- and patients deserve to get the treatment they need when they need it.
“That is why the Liberal Democrats are calling for an NHS Strike Resilience Plan, to protect patients from suffering.
“The Government needs to pull its finger out and ensure that private hospitals are on standby so that anyone set to receive treatment is not forced to go without and waitlists are not left to soar.”
The call comes as a five-day walk out of resident doctors, formerly known as junior doctors, gets underway in England after talks between the British Medical Association and the Government over pay broke down.
Nearly 50,000 resident doctors reportedly went on strike at 7am today, with the action planned to continue for five days until 7am on Wednesday.
The Government had made an offer of a 5.4 per cent pay rise which the BMA rejected, arguing instead for a 29 per cent rise and claiming that pay has been eroded 20 per cent in real terms since 2008.
Health Secretary Wes Streeting has described the strike action as “completely unjustified” and argued that it “enormously undermines the entire trade union movement.”
NHS London has said that non life-saving care was being “put on the back burner”. Dr Chris Streather, the medical director of NHS London has estimated that around 60,000 appointments could be affected.
