A key figure behind the four-day junior doctors’ strike has apologised for “undermining” the action by booking holiday as his colleagues walked out.
Dr Rob Laurenson, co-chair of the British Medical Association’s junior doctors committee, took annual leave to attend a family friend’s wedding this week, meaning he will be paid while striking doctors missed out.
In a message shared with his colleagues posted online, Dr Laurenson said: “I can see that you feel undermined and I am really sorry my actions have contributed to that.”
Around 47,000 junior doctors are walking out this week in a dispute over pay. They are demanding a 35 per cent rise to restore their pay to 2008 levels. They argue that the move will help the NHS recruit and retain junior doctors and ease pressure on the health service.
Dr Laurenson came under fire on Wednesday when it was revealed that he was missing the walkout.
Former Tory health minister Lord Bethell described him as a “plonker”, while Rishi Sunak said he was “surprised to read” that Dr Laurenson was on holiday during the strikes.
Tory MP Julian Knight said Dr Laurenson’s decision to “swan off” on holiday was “adding insult to injury”. He told The Independent: “The junior doctors’ strike is deeply irresponsible and their demands are totally unreasonable. Having orchestrated this disaster for patients and our NHS, for the union leader to then swan off in this manner is adding insult to injury.”
But colleagues rushed to Dr Laurenson’s defence and insisted his absence was warranted because he was “fulfilling a long-standing commitment”.
Striking NHS junior doctors on the picket line outside St Thomas’ Hospital in London
Asking colleagues to “forgive” him on Thursday, Dr Laurenson, 28, said: “The thing most important to me is the integrity of the unity of doctors and that is why I’m at pains to be as transparent as possible and accountable as possible.”
Health service leaders have warned the strike will be the most disruptive yet and will have a significant impact on the NHS’s ability to provide care.
The NHS Confederation warned on the second day of the action that “with junior doctors making up nearly two-fifths of an already understaffed workforce, NHS leaders are understandably worried about the further impact this walkout will have on their services”.
A majority of the public support junior doctors’ strike action, with 54 per cent in favour and just 26 opposed, according to polling by Ipsos. Rather than falling away, support for the stoppages has been growing since March.
But Health Secretary Steve Barclay has dismissed junior doctors’ demand to have their pay restored as “unrealistic” and says it amounts to a 35 per cent rise.
The government has refused to negotiate with the BMA until the union drops its pay demand.
