Hospitals made a record number of requests for striking doctors to return to the wards this weekend as a five-day walkout prompted safety fears for patient safety, the British Medical Association has claimed.
The BMA said hospitals had asked for more than 125 resident doctors to come off the picket lines during the walkout.
The union has claimed some of those pleas were made inappropriately and had to be refused, while those that had been granted had to be revoked.
It also said there had been incidents where patient safety was at risk due to trusts not having enough staff to cover emergency care.
Resident doctors are taking part in a strike over pay, which began on Friday, 25 July and will end at 7am on Wednesday.
The BMA’s resident doctors committee has asked the government for a 29 per cent pay increase to address what it says has been a more than 20 per cent erosion of their pay since 2008. However, talks between doctors and health secretary Wes Streeting broke down last week and failed to avert strike action.
Last week, NHS England chiefs told hospital leaders they must maintain elective care during the strikes, whereas during previous rounds, widespread cancellations took place.
During strikes, employers can request “derogations”, in which a union can grant permission for a doctor or multiple doctors to come into work on strike days.
NHS England’s figures as of Monday show 58 requests for “derogations” had been made, eight had been approved, 23 had been declined, 15 had been withdrawn, and some are still pending a decision. There has so far been a record number of approvals compared to previous strike rounds, according to NHS data.
Over the weekend, the BMA claimed one hospital, in Sheffield, had asked for resident doctors to come in as its consultants were not able to use the trust’s new electronic records system.
The union also posted on X, claiming it had agreed to let a doctor return to work within the obstetric department at Queens Medical Centre, run by Nottingham University Hospitals Trust.
Other trusts cited by the union include Lewisham and St George’s Hospitals in London.
In a message to resident doctors on Sunday, the BMA resident doctors’ committee said: “This dispute had exposed a small number of trusts where they have planned as if strikes were not even happening. We have received a record number of derogation requests this set of strikes. This is because NHS England has issued instructions to Trusts to try to keep elective activity open, despite our warnings of the risks to patient safety.”
The message claimed the BMA has received 47 derogation requests from NHS England and that these contained requests for 125 resident doctors to return to work to cover gaps.
Following requests, the BMA said it had granted 16 doctors permission to go back to work. It said the trusts where derogations were revoked were either “misinformed about their staffing, or deliberately misled” the BMA.
Other “inappropriate” derogations the BMA said it had been asked for included where trusts planned for a full rota of resident doctors, and then were “caught out when resident doctors went on strike”.
Multiple trusts had “prioritised elective activity over the safety of more urgent patients”, the BMA claimed.
It said due to “poor timing of requests” there have been instances where patients’ safety has been at risk, “with not enough doctors to ensure emergency care,” which has led to “last-minute” requests for doctors.
Ahead of the strikes, the BMA was criticised for advising resident doctors against informing their employers of their plans to strike.
In a rare intervention, the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges published a statement to the BMA warning that this would risk patient safety.
An NHS England spokesperson said: “The NHS is continuing to work hard to maintain more services than in previous rounds of industrial action, and early indications show the plan is working with the vast majority of planned care going ahead.
“Derogation requests for resident doctors to work in exceptional circumstances are being made by the most senior clinical teams on the ground, and delays or refusals by the British Medical Association questions their integrity and risks patient safety.”
