doctors' strike in almost 40 years.
Hello, and welcome to today's live coverage of the firstThe effect of the industrial action – over changes to doctors' pensions that they regard as unfair and unnecessary – is difficult to predict.
Not all doctors are taking part. About a third do not belong to the British Medical Association, which has called the action, and when the BMA balloted its members last month 21% of GPs and 15.7% of hospital consultants said they would not participate, on turnouts of 53.1% and 56% respectively.
Nevertheless, services in hospitals and GPs' surgeries in many areas will be affected. But unlike in most industrial disputes, doctors will still attend their workplaces as usual, continuing to deal with urgent and emergency cases, and only refusing to attend to routine and non-urgent appointments and consultations. So it should be business as usual in A&E departments, maternity units, for renal and cancer patients, and anyone needing an urgent diagnostic test or end-of-life care, while 80% of UK hospitals, according to the BMA, have cancelled some planned operations and some outpatient appointments.
Andrew Lansley, the health secretary, has claimed that 30,000 operations will be cancelled, 1.25m GP appointments delayed, 58,000 diagnostic tests postponed, and 200,000 outpatient appointments rescheduled. But there is no way of verifying these figures because the Department of Health has asked NHS trusts not to release such details to the media. The DoH may release a summary of the impact later on today.
We will be reporting on the impact of the doctors' day of action live here throughout the day.
![Hamish Meldrum](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20120622024848im_/http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Admin/BkFill/Default_image_group/2011/6/27/1309182280081/Hamish-Meldrum-002.jpg)
Radio 4's Today programme, Hamish Meldrum of the BMA (left) was repeatedly asked whether doctors were putting at risk their enviable public standing by taking industrial action today.
The BMA and the health secretary have already been taking to the airwaves to put their sides of the story. OnMeldrum said: "Just to emphasise, no patients are being put at risk … We have to respond to what our members say, and they pretty overwhelmingly said that they were angry and they wanted to take this action. Nobody is happy about taking any action which inconveniences patients, but the nature of a doctor's job means it's almost impossible to find anything that won't do that. So that's why we emphasise public safety. I really hope that we can find a resolution to this. Nobody is happy about this. No doctor wants to do this."
On ITV's Daybreak, Meldrum responded to Andrew Lansley's claim that the strike would be "pointless".
I hope [the action] is not pointless and futile because we are very anxious to seek a resolution to this dispute and if this helps to highlight the problem and to get to that resolution then I hope it will have some point to it …
We doctors have enjoyed a good relationship, high trust, with their patients and we don't want to do anything to get rid of that, but what we feel we've had is lack of trust from the government.
We negotiated a deal on pensions four years ago that meant that doctors would work longer, they would pay more and that they would take the risk of any future increase or impact of people living longer on the pension scheme and the government has walked away from that deal. I hope that after today we can sit down and we can talk.
On the same programme, Lansley urged doctors not to participate:
I know doctors don't want to go on strike. I hope they don't. I think if they have an argument and they're angry, they're angry with the government and that's our job to represent the taxpayer and the public interest, and maybe we will have that argument. But I can't see why anybody thinks there is any benefit in penalising patients. It won't serve any purpose whatsoever.
The last time doctors took action was in 1975, when consultants suspended goodwill activities and worked to contract over a contractual dispute, and junior doctors worked to a 40-hour week because of dissatisfaction with the progress of contract negotiations.
![Health secretary Andrew Lansley](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20120622024848im_/http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2012/6/20/1340206188441/Health-secretary-Andrew-L-002.jpg)
We needed something that was fairer for other NHS staff as well. The contributions do need to be properly progressive and they do need to reflect the highest paid paying a greater proportion into their pensions overall.
He said that current arrangements meant that often the highest paid received twice as much back in pension benefits than lower-paid staff.
I'm afraid we are in a position where the BMA are out on their own and what they seem to be aiming for is to try and change things back so they get more and nurses and porters and others in the NHS get less.
Dean Royles, director of NHS Employers, which represents hospital trusts in England, said patients awaiting an operation to remove a cataract or benign lump, or replace a worn-out hip or knee, were among those whose care had been postponed, but only in some places. "I don't have any hard numbers [of patients affected] but in some places it will be very disruptive and in other places it will be very minimal."
onegpprotest writes about his/her local protest:
Below the line,![]()
Our GP practice is open and working as usual. I have just sent an unwell man into hospital.
But we are wearing protest badges and have put up information in the waiting room as to why we are protesting. This is our version of "industrial action".
The BMA has been pretty useless at highlighting the structural underlying problem and as a result doctors have come across as greedy.
Suggest you read these two letters to the Lancet, one of them by Tower Hamlets GPs which is where I work.
http://bit.ly/LEWK8F and http://bit.ly/LlsY7w
We have enlarged copies of the letters and hung them in the waiting room.
A third of GPs' surgeries are affected by the industrial action today, Denis Campbell reports.
The Press Association has been speaking to patients at the Princes Park Health Centre in Eastbourne, east Sussex, where there was a normal service today. Linda Law, 58, from Pevensey, said:
I had an injection and I was straight in, straight out. There were no queues in there at all. I wasn't worried because I had made an appointment so I didn't think there would be a problem ... Doctors work very hard. I think I would support them. They deserve it, and my doctor is fantastic, but if it really affected me I possibly wouldn't.
Trainee accountant Shannan Barrett, 21, from Eastbourne, said:
It was fine and fast. I was in and out. There were no delays and I was in there for about 10 minutes. I think doctors deserve good pensions. When you think that footballers get millions of pounds for kicking a football around, I think doctors deserve it.
But another woman, who declined to be named, disagreed. She said: "I don't think doctors should strike. They are well-paid but it's their decision, like in all walks of life."
Another patient said she could not support the doctors' cause because she felt their existing earnings and pension benefits were already generous enough. She said:
If it was a case of somebody like me and they were striking because they were low paid then I would say yes, strike, as that's the only comeback they have got. But if I was dying, what would happen?
Denis Campbell reports that one in three GP surgeries across the UK is affected to some extent by the doctors' day of action, according to the BMA.
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The union has just released that figure, which is new, and it stresses is an estimate. But it believes it is accurate and is based on intelligence received from its industrial relations staff based in its regional offices in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
"Our estimate at the moment is that around one third of GP practices are taking action. They are affected to some degree," said a BMA spokesman. That doesn't mean that a third of surgeries are closed or that all the doctors in them are unavailable - far from it. "That could be one doctor at the practice taking action or potentially all the doctors there," added the BMA spokesman.
So what does these surgeries' involvement mean? "It means there's some action taking place there. That could be that routine appointments are being postponed and that patients who had pre-booked appointments have had them rearranged," he said. But any patient who feels their condition or symptoms mean they need to be seen will be seen.
There are some 10,159 GP practices across the UK. There are 8,316 in England, 1,002 in Scotland, 483 in Wales and 358 in Northern Ireland.
The union has already said that 80% of hospitals have postponed planned operations or outpatient clinics today because of the industrial action. This is their first assessment of the impact on GP services.
Kate Adams, who has been a doctor for 13 years, and a GP in Hackney, east London, for the past 12 years. She also works for the GP out of hours service in Tower Hamlets and is a joint clinical lead for urgent care (a commissioning role) in east London. Kate is also a journalist and is currently doing an MA in science journalism at City University. She writes:
One of the contributors to our blog today is![]()
I spoke to Dr Alex Freeman at 10.30am. Alex is a GP in Southampton. She works part time for the Primary Care Trust and also works as locum. Alex is supporting the industrial action today by not working and is forfeiting a day's pay. Alex is aware of at least two surgeries taking action in Southampton.
"Everybody thinks this is about doctors wanting more money. It's not; it's about doctors having money stolen from them."
A lot of doctors feel strongly about this issue. There was a pension deal agreed four years ago and doctors agreed to put more money into the pension scheme to make it financially viable. In fact it is £2bn in surplus. The extra money now being paid by doctors is not going into the scheme but to the Treasury. This is an extra tax on doctors. Many doctors I know feel the government has been dishonest in saying that the pension scheme is not financially viable.
Alex reports that so far surgeries are eerily quiet this morning. Mid-morning is usually the busiest time for surgeries. It may be that given the high level of media coverage of this dispute, despite reassurances that people with urgent health problems will be seen, patients are in fact keeping away.
are doctors' pensions too generous? They sum up the dispute between doctors and the NHS like this:
Over on the Reality check blog, my colleagues Hilary Osborne and Jill Insley are asking:Doctors are on strike over changes to the NHS pension scheme which will mean an increase in contributions and longer working lives. The British Medical Association says the changes are unfair, because the scheme is in surplus and reforms in 2008 made it viable for years to come; the Department of Health says the last set of reforms did not allow for the cost of increased life-expectancy.
They go on to explain the system in detail, and quote Laith Khalaf, pension expert with Hargreaves Lansdown, as saying you would need a pension pot of £1.5m to buy an index linked pension income equivalent to the sum doctors can expect to retire on at the age of 65.
He adds that we should all be aiming to contribute 14.5% (9% plus tax relief for a higher rate taxpayer) of our pensionable earnings from the age of 25 if we want to achieve a good pension income in retirement. "If you asked me was I prepared to pay 14.5% of my salary to get a defined benefit pension like this, then I would be prepared to pay that. Quite frankly I would bite your hand off for it," he says.
After the proposed increases some doctors will be contributing 14.5% including tax relief, but the government is also contributing another 10% on their behalf, meaning they will benefit from "exceptional pensions".
However he points out that the move to "career average" rather than "final salary" will have a much bigger effect on doctors compared to others in the NHS scheme. "Final salary schemes are scewed towards people who have high career progression and end up on very big salaries. From that point of view I understand why they have a problem with the move to career average as they have the most to lose."
Nine out of 10 hospital doctors are working normally in London, 490 operations and 3,200 outpatient appointments have been rescheduled, and 83% of GPs' surgeries are offering a full service, Denis Campbell reports. That's according to figures just released by NHS London, which is the strategic health authority for London - the regional arm of the Department of Health, in effect.
Here's what an NHS London spokesman has just said in a press release:
Early figures indicate that more than 90% of all hospital doctors in London are working normally. Although members of BMA are taking industrial action today, all emergency and urgent care is continuing. This means that those doctors participating in the industrial action
will be attending their place of work.Hospitals in the London area have had to reschedule around 490 operations. This represents around 10% of the total number of operations anticipated on the day. We also understand that around 3,200 outpatient appointments have been rescheduled. This represents just under 5% of appointments on the average working day.
83% of all GP practices in London are working normally today. The remaining 17% will be open but may be providing a reduced service by treating only urgent cases. Anyone with an appointment scheduled today should attend as planned unless they have been notified of a change. Where possible, arrangements are also in place for hospital doctors who are not taking industrial action to cover non-urgent appointments, if clinically appropriate. As with any other day, if you feel ill and require advice, please contact NHS Direct on 0845 4647. Health advice is also available at www.nhs.uk/nhsdirect.
To help doctors and nurses working in A&E care for the most seriously ill and injured patients quickly, we would urge Londoners not to call for an ambulance or go to A&E unless it is a real emergency. A&E and 999 services are for people with a life threatening or serious condition that needs immediate attention, such as a heart attack, a stroke, breathing problems, or a serious accident. For less urgent care, treatment will be available in local urgent care centres, walk-in centres and pharmacies.
![Roger Federer at Wimbledon in 2008](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20120622024848im_/http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Sport/Pix/pictures/2009/6/19/1245426288578/Roger-Federer-at-Wimbledo-001.jpg)
At Wimbledon Village surgery in south-west London two of the three GPs on duty today are not BMA members - but all three have joined in the action, Denis Campbell reports.
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"My colleagues are doing that because their pensions are being affected in the same way as me, even though they're not BMA members," explained Dr Paul Cundy, one of the three partner GPs at the surgery and the only BMA member amongst the trio. "We are all very, very angry about the changes that the government is making. Before the 2008 agreement [the overhaul of NHS pensions under labour] my personal pension contribution was 7% of my salary. After that it went up to 10.5% because we weren't paying our fair share, so doctors willingly opened their wallets to contribute on an appropriate basis. Lansley now wants to put my contributions up to 14.5% from next April. I don't know of any other group anywhere whose pension contributions have been forced to double in five years. This is deeply unfair."
Four or five of the surgery's six GPs are usually on duty on a weekday and between them see about 100 to 120 patients at routine appointments each day. One of the GPs is on holiday and another is providing medical support at the qualifying tournament for the Wimbledon tennis championships, which are held little more than a Roger Federer volley away, so only three were due in. In order to support the industrial action the surgery decided not to book any such consultations for today. They are typically people having regular check-ups for conditions such as diabetes, depression or high blood pressure. But the three GPs have been seeing patients who have rung up and said they felt their symptoms meant they needed to see a GP today - seven so far.
"One had a cough, a cancer patient had pain in their tummy, someone else had a swollen eye, another had an exacerbation of their asthma - though not an asthma attack - and a lady had abdominal pain and heavy periods. One had a condition that is too specific to mention, in case that identifies the patient, and the seventh came in to have a blood pressure device fitted because the control of their blood pressure was causing concern," said Cundy. Apart from that, he adds, "our doctors have got empty surgeries".
So is it all a bit unusual, to have so little custom? "It's lovely. So far it's been very relaxed. I take the fact that patients aren't ringing us as a form of support - that is, they know we're here and dealing with urgent stuff but they aren't bothering us unnecessarily."
Regardless of the success or otherwise of today's action, and irrespective of whether or not today prompts ministers to rethink what he sees as an unfair "special tax" on doctors, Cundy thinks the BMA should hold a second day of action to press their case. The BMA's ruling council will decide on that next Thursday at the union's annual general meeting in Bournemouth.
The BMA has accused the government of making "misleading" comments about doctors' pension reforms and of presenting "partial representations of the facts".
Health secretary Andrew Lansley's claims that taxpayers subsidise £4 out of every £5 of doctors' pensions is false, the union said. A spokesman said:
The NHS pension scheme does not work by building up a pension pot - staff working now pay for the pensions of NHS staff who are retired. The scheme currently brings in £2bn more than it pays out - this money goes back to the Treasury.
The health secretary's remarks that a more generous deal for doctors would mean a less fair deal for NHS staff overall were also misleading, the BMA said.
The spending envelope which the government says NHS pension entitlements must now be funded within is an entirely arbitrary amount, set with no regard to the actual funding position of the NHS scheme or the 2008 reforms.
Pitting one staff group against another to stay within this "envelope" is a completely false proposition. Doctors rightly pay more than lower paid workers and we are not seeking to change that.
the BMA blog reports. Sturgeon said the action in Scotland was "unfortunate and unnecessary" but urged the BMA to remain involved in Scottish-level talks.
Nicola Sturgeon, the Scottish health secretary, says that 60% of GP practices in Scotland have been affected by today's action and more than 3,200 outpatient appointments have been cancelled,How hard is it for junior doctors to take industrial action today, asks doctor and journalist Kate Adams.
Below the line, doctors are talking about what they are doing to take part in today's action.![]()
Two days ago I spoke to a friend of mine who is a junior doctor in a hospital in the east of England. She said: "I can't strike because I'm covering acute inpatient care. Most junior doctors working in medicine have jobs where they are involved in caring for ill people so they can't strike. It's going to put pressure on your colleagues and means the person left on the ward is going to have twice as much to do."
I have just spoken to Dr Ben Molyneux, who said it is more tricky for junior doctors to take action. Ben said while there is a huge appetite to get involved in the industrial action, junior doctors are often in frontline jobs doing work that can not be delayed for patient safety reasons. Ben works in a hospital paediatrics unit in east London that looks after sick children. The same applies to junior doctors working in A&E and those working for maternity services. He said that there is good camaraderie on the ground with doctors supporting their colleagues who may be struggling to cover today.
I'm a doctor and on strike today. I'm in my office doing clinical audit work and my research which I would normally stay out of hours to do. My patients (inpatients, psychiatric services) will not notice any difference today; I have already shuffled my clinical work in the same way as I would if I were taking annual leave, attending teaching or unwell. I'm on the end of the phone, as always, for questions, queries and emergencies
I'm a junior doctor - I've just finished my ward round, did the jobs I needed to do and am about to go to clinic for semi-emergency fracture follow-ups.
Striking today has meant very little change in practice - the whole emphasis today was to see those patients who need seeing, and that's right and proper. Many of us would have gone on strike regarding the proposed changes to the NHS given half the chance.
The bald facts are these; my salary is about 35K. for this I work nights, weekends, evenings etc ... and put in many hours behind the scenes in research/audit and staying back late when a patient gets ill.
I know this is a good salary. But I feel I earn it.
The NHS pension pot is in surplus, thanks primarily to doctors as I understand.
Doctors renegotiated their pensions four years ago to "future proof" them in case further rises were needed and ensure we provided any shortfall.
Equivalent civil servants (including MPs) are not being asked to give the same
All the doctors I've spoken to feel the same way and are entering into industrial action with reticence. But ultimately it's not just me who relies on my pension, it's the family for whom I have to provide and that's worth fighting for.
I would have taken industrial action over the health and social care bill, as would many of my colleagues. However, as that is not an issue of pay or terms and conditions of service, as far as I'm aware, it would have been illegal to strike over it.
As a group we put as much pressure on the government as we could. It was rejected by the BMA, by nearly all of the medical Royal Colleges, and many other professional bodies. The government chose to ignore our opposition, and unfortunately we had no legal recourse (as far as I'm aware) to stop them.
I am a doctor and I am taking industrial action. I am still at work, but I am providing emergency care only. I was on call overnight, and provided care as needed, and now during the normal working day, I am also providing emergency and urgent care. This action is not a "strike" as it is being described in much of the media - but why let the facts get in the way of a good story.
I appreciate that we are well paid, have relatively secure jobs, and get a good pension, but I and many of my colleagues feel we are justified in our actions.
Doctor and journalist Kate Adams has just been speaking to Dr Mary McCarthy, a GP in Shrewsbury. At her surgery one of the GPs is working normally because they voted no to the strike. The other GPs are only seeing people with urgent problems.
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All the surgeries are open in Shrewsbury and for many patients they won't notice any difference. "We are seeing anyone who turns up who has an urgent problem. This is how general practice used to be and patients are going to love it because access will be great today."
The impact of industrial action is more likely to be felt in hospitals. Mary has spoken to some of her GP colleagues in other surgeries and so far things are far quieter than you would expect. Mary added: "I can't say whether this is because of the rain or whether because people think we are closed today."
One of the key issues in the pensions dispute is whether it is reasonable to expect health professionals to work beyond 65, writes Kate Adams. This has been a major issue for all the health unions.
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Clare, a respiratory consultant in the east of England who is a friend of mine, told me: "If the pension pot isn't sufficient and we all need to work until 70 then I think we need to rethink our working patterns and change patterns of work as doctors age. Acute medicine is a younger person's job. When I'm over 60 I won't be able to do what a 35-year-old can do. This year, Clare has seen both her in-laws die in their 60s. "We don't know what is going to happen to us as we age," she said.
Dr Alex Freeman, a GP in Southampton, said: "I worked over 100 hours a week as a junior doctor for very poor pay and sacrificed my 20s to the NHS. I'm not prepared to sacrifice my 60s."
I was lucky and didn't have to work horrendous hours as a junior doctor. I am an inner-city GP and know I won't be able to do the job when I'm over 65. It is an intense job and we work under a lot of time pressure. If I'm forced to work until I'm 68 then I will look at leaving general practice early and find a role working in a less stressful environment where I can use my doctor skills.
I think other GPs will consider this also. I think there could be an exodus of highly trained health care staff. What about porters and healthcare staff who have physically demanding jobs?
I have spoken to London ambulance staff who are also concerned about needing to work when they are pensioners. It is a physically demanding job and they are often expected to carry people down flights of stairs.
One in 10 patients has had an operation, outpatient appointment or treatment rescheduled due to the British Medical Association's industrial action, figures from the Department of Health suggest.
Denis Campbell writes that in the south of England, 468 planned operations, and 3,474 outpatient appointments, have been postponed due to the doctors' action, the local NHS overseeing body says.
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An update I have just received from NHS South of England - the strategic health authority for a large swathe of the south and south-west - fits with the equivalent data released earlier by NHS London, ie that about one in 10 planned operations due to happen today have been postponed and about the same number of GP appointments, or slightly fewer.
I've asked the other two SHAs in England, which cover the north and the Midlands and east of England for their figures and will bring them to you when I get them. Here's what NHS South of England are saying:
"We can confirm no serious operational difficulties across the south of England as a result of the BMA action. All NHS organisations have business continuity plans in place and these are working well, thanks to the efforts of staff and helpful co-operation of patients. No GP surgery closures have been reported and most (1,150 out of 1,821) are confirmed as operating services as usual. The number of operations having to be postponed so far is reported as 468, all being rescheduled.
"On an average day there would be around 5,000 elective patient admissions. The number of outpatient appointments affected so far is reported as 3,474, compared to an average 47,000 outpatient attendances daily. Hospitals have worked well to inform patients of any possible disruption or cancellation of non-urgent appointments. There has been minimal impact on ambulance services. Anyone concerned about their health or any appointments should contact their local GP or hospital as usual."
A quarter of GP surgeries are operating a reduced service due to BMA members participating in the day of action, the Department of Health has said.
see 1.57pm). That is their first update on the impact of today's action. We expect an updated impact assessment later. Here's their statement:
About one in 10 patients who were due to receive routine or planned non-urgent NHS care today - an operation or visit to their GP - have had it postponed, the Department of Health has said (Early indications are that around one in 10 patients have had their treatment, operation or outpatient appointment cancelled and rescheduled and that around three quarters of GP surgeries are operating a normal or near normal service.
Andrew Lansley, the health secretary, said:
In the run-up to these strikes our objective has been to minimise disruption for patients. We asked doctors to recognise that their quarrel was not with patients but with the government. I am pleased that a significant majority of doctors have done just that and maintained services for their patients.
But let us not forget that the consequence of the BMA's decision to ask doctors to go on strike has been that thousands of patients who expected to have an operation or an appointment today have been inconvenienced or distressed by delay to their care. It is extremely regrettable if any patients have suffered unnecessarily. We will do everything we can to ensure that those patients get their treatment as soon as possible. I call on the BMA to commit to further cooperation to enable patients to have their rescheduled operations and appointments as soon as possible.
The BMA is still sticking to its figure of one in three GPs' surgeries being affected by today's industrial action, despite the Department of Health saying the figure is a quarter. Dr Hamish Meldrum of the BMA said:
Because doctors have been in their places of work as usual, it was always going to be difficult to put an exact figure on the scale of the action. Our feedback to date indicates that action is taking place in around one in three GP surgeries.
In secondary care, we estimate that at least four in every five NHS employers in secondary care across the UK have postponed some non-urgent work, with a wide variation in numbers of postponed appointments. Our intention was not to maximise impact on patients, but to communicate the scale of doctors' anger and to encourage the government back to the table.
Journalist and doctor Kate Adams asks whether the hostile press coverage of the doctors' industrial action is warranted.
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Last weekend, the Mail on Sunday published photos of houses owned by some of the BMA's leading doctors. Other doctors in the BMA have also been targeted. Some have been doorstepped, as have their wives.
Some of these doctors have been rattled by this experience – even those with the thick skins that develop with a career in medico-politics. These doctors aren't criminals, and haven't broken the law, but they are being hounded. The stakes are high and the government's press machine is going for the jugular.
A GP friend, Dr Anna Greenham, who works in Gateshead, told me this morning that she felt 99% of the press coverage has been negative. "It's a disaster," she said. Anna doesn't recognise the high earnings figures quoted, nor what they can expect in their future pensions. The GP workforce is rapidly becoming a female salaried service.
The government uses HMRC figures, based on GPs' tax returns, to calculate GPs' average earnings. Figures from the Health and Social Care Information Centre show that the average salary of a GP is £105,700, while the average salary of a consultant, including overtime, is £116,900. But these figures are skewed by relatively small numbers of GPs who earn very large incomes; most earn less. The median for consultants is £108,200, according to the BMA; the union does not have a median figure for GPs.
![Recap](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20120622024848im_/http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2012/5/10/1336653521032/recap1.gif)
Here is a summary of today's key events so far.
• A large minority of GPs' surgeries have been affected in some way by today's industrial action by doctors, the first such action in almost 40 years. According to the Department of Health, a quarter of surgeries have been affected, while the British Medical Association says the figure is a third. Doctors are protesting against changes to their pensions that they say are unfair and unnecessary.
• Unlike in most industrial disputes, however, those who are taking part are still turning up to work and dealing with urgent and emergency cases; only routine and non-urgent appointments have been postponed. About one in 10 patients who were due to receive routine or planned non-urgent NHS care today have had it postponed, according to the DoH.
• Andrew Lansley, the health secretary, said he was pleased that "the majority of doctors" had maintained services for patients, but added: "Thousands of patients who expected to have an operation or an appointment today have been inconvenienced or distressed by delay to their care" (see 2.33pm). The BMA's Hamish Meldrum said: "Our intention was not to maximise impact on patients, but to communicate the scale of doctors' angers and to encourage the government back to the table" (see 2.44pm).
• The BMA accused the government of making "misleading" comments about doctors' pension reforms and of presenting "partial representations of the facts" (see 12.42pm).
NHS figures reveal that more than 21,000 patients have not had their scheduled operation or outpatient appointment in England today because of the doctors' industrial action, Denis Campbell writes.
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A total of 2,680 people have not undergone non-urgent surgery that should have taken place today and another 18,494 did not see their hospital consultant as planned.
The figures have been provided by the NHS's four strategic health authorities (SHAs), which cover four large chunks of England.
Between 63% and 77% of GPs' surgeries have been working completely normally, they add.
In London a total of 520 operations and 3,900 outpatient appointments have been rescheduled - both slightly higher than the figures NHS London SHA initially released this morning.
In the South of England SHA area, which stretches from Margate to Penzance, 468 surgical procedures and 3,474 hospital appointments have been postponed.
In the Midlands and East of England SHA area a total of 458 operations and 3,830 outpatient appointments have had to be postponed.
In the North of England SHA area - which includes the north-west, north-east and Yorkshire and the Humber - 1,234 operations and 7,290 outpatient appointments did not happen.
Again using NHS dat,a the proportion of GPs' surgeries in those areas which have been working completely normally has been: London (77%), the South (63%), the Midlands and the East (77%) and the North (75%).
Doctor and journalist Kate Adams asks if the BMA's strategy on industrial action has worked, and looks at how some doctors who have not taken action feel today.
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The BMA's industrial action has only targeted non-urgent and non emergency work – all cancer work carries on as planned. A doctor who has therefore not been participating in today's action said: "I work in cancer care so I am operating all day Thursday because these are cancer patients. I think the BMA has gone so far out of its way to make sure there is no suffering to patients, they have made it impossible for huge numbers of people to do anything. It's a difficult political line to tread. We don't want to harm patients and be a major inconvenience and cause major suffering to patients.
"A friend who does orthopaedic surgery has a list on Thursday. He does revision of joints which is complicated surgery, these are needy patients who are suffering and he feels he can't leave them. Maybe the sanctions should have been management based."
A consultant psychiatrist in a mental health trust in the north of England told me that very little industrial action was taking place in his trust. "It's hard for me to go on strike because I look after people who are mentally unwell."
A medical consultant in the east of England said: "Doctors feel very uncomfortable striking. It was almost a relief that I care for some cancer patients in my clinic so it wasn't cancelled."
The Department of Health has released its final figures on the impact of the strike today.
The DoH says about 2,700 non-urgent operations were cancelled in England and 18,750 outpatient appointments rescheduled as a result of the action.
The industrial action affected 24% of GP practices in England, according to strategic health authorities.
In Scotland, around 3,200 outpatient appointments and 450 inpatient appointments were rearranged, while an estimated 60% of GPs' practices were affected to some degree.
We are still waiting for figures from Wales and Northern Ireland.
Andrew Lansley has just been speaking on BBC News. He said:
I really do hope that the BMA now works with us to ensure that patients have their appointments and treatments as quickly as possible.
The health secretary said pension negotiations had been taking place for over a year. The changes related not just to doctors' pensions, but to those of all NHS staff, he said.
I can't see why anyone would imagine that the BMA are right in saying that they have to take strike action in order to be heard. We've continuously listened to the BMA … So I'm afraid the BMA's motivation is unclear. Clearly taking action that prejudices patients' care is completely unjustified.
However, he appeared to row back from that harsh language almost immediately:
When you look at the number of doctors who've taken part in strike action, it is not that they don't necessarily have a grievance about their pension arrangements, but that they don't think it's right to prejudice patients, they don't think it's right for patients to suffer or to be distressed as a consequence of that, and they put patients first … The BMA should simply take that message and join the other trade unions, like the Royal College of Nursing and Unison, who are discussing with us the implementation of the agreement we collectively arrived at.
The BMA has strongly disputed the government's assessment of the impact of today's action and claimed it led to much more disruption than ministers admit, Denis Campbell reports.
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The Department of Health's figures should be "treated with extreme caution", the union says. While the DoH claimed that 9% of normal daily non-urgent elective operations had to be rescheduled, the BMA says the true figure was more like 25%.
Similarly, it also disputes the DoH's claim that three-quarters of GPs' surgeries in England offered the full range of normal services. One third joined the action, it insists.
Here's the statement the BMA has just released:
"Because doctors have been in their places of work as usual, it was always going to be difficult to put a figure on the number taking part - the government's figures need to be treated with extreme caution. Our feedback from the doctors co-ordinating the action on the ground indicates that in England up to a quarter of non-urgent cases have been postponed, and around a third of GP practices have been taking some form of action. Our intention has not been to maximise the impact on patients, but to communicate the scale of doctors' anger and to encourage the government back to the table. Doctors have sent a strong message that a fairer approach must be found."
Yesterday doctor and journalist Kate Adams spoke to a consultant who mentioned that the management team at Newcastle Hospitals has a reputation for being aggressive towards staff during times of industrial action. She has just heard from one their junior doctors:
Lots of frustration from juniors in Newcastle Hospitals who wanted to take action but were prevented by trust policy which states that all ward-based in-patient activity must continue. Very disappointing. A robust challenge to the Trust's obstructive management style would be needed in advance of any further days of industrial action here.
Dr Tim Walls, Newcastle's medical director, responded:
The trust recognises in principle the right of an employee to take lawful industrial action in response to a national dispute and there has been very good cooperation from the BMA in enabling the trust to deliver emergency and urgent care. We simply don't recognise the behaviour alleged by a junior doctor.
Hospitals elsewhere seem to have been more reasonable. One of the consultants in Sheffield told me that the hospital had been very reasonable wanting to work with the union and recognising that this is a national not a local disagreement.
In Northern Ireland, a total of 897 patients were affected by either cancelled appointments or cancelled operations today, according to the NHS.
The BMA said that more than half of GPs' practices participated.
We have had no NHS figures for Wales yet, but the BMA claims that at least 50% of routine GP appointments and a range of surgical concerns have been cancelled. "Almost every hospital site in Wales has participated," said a BMA spokeswoman. "Of these sites well over 50% and up to 75% staff participation."
![Recap](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20120622024848im_/http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2012/5/10/1336653521032/recap1.gif)
Here is a summary of today's key events so far.
• A large minority of GPs' surgeries have been affected in some way by today's industrial action by doctors, the first such action in almost 40 years. According to the Department of Health, a quarter of surgeries have been affected, while the British Medical Association says the figure is a third. Doctors are protesting against changes to their pensions that they say are unfair and unnecessary.
• Unlike in most industrial disputes, however, those who are taking part are still turning up to work and dealing with urgent and emergency cases; only routine and non-urgent appointments have been postponed. About one in 10 patients who were due to receive routine or planned non-urgent NHS care today have had it postponed, according to the DoH. The BMA says that figure is more like 25%.
• Andrew Lansley, the health secretary, said he was pleased that "the majority of doctors" had maintained services for patients, but added: "Thousands of patients who expected to have an operation or an appointment today have been inconvenienced or distressed by delay to their care" (see 2.33pm). The BMA's Hamish Meldrum said: "Our intention was not to maximise impact on patients, but to communicate the scale of doctors' angers and to encourage the government back to the table" (see 2.44pm). Later Lansley was more emollient, saying: "When you look at the number of doctors who've taken part in strike action, is not that they don't necessarily have a grievance about their pension arrangements, but that they don't think it's right to prejudice patients, they don't think it's right for patients to suffer or to be distressed as a consequence of that, and they put patients first. The BMA should ... join the other trade unions ... who are discussing with us the implementation of the agreement we collectively arrived at. "
• The BMA accused the government of making "misleading" comments about doctors' pension reforms and of presenting "partial representations of the facts" (see 12.42pm).
Comments
21 June 2012 9:42AM
Richard Vautrey, a GP in Leeds has posted this tweet
I guess that says it all.
Doctors are highly trained yet they pay far more for their pension than a civil servant does for the same amount.
The govt need to negotiate rather than dictate.
21 June 2012 9:52AM
To all the people that comment that "Doctors pensions are so much higher than mine". Yes they are they know more than you do they worked for it they save our lives!
21 June 2012 9:54AM
Doctors are striking to protect their pensions and to prevent privatisation of the health service.
The health secretary says they will not have the support of the public.
Would you trust a politician or a doctor ?
Dumb question really !
21 June 2012 9:58AM
At last a powerful group, who are at the receiving end of Tory injustice, are taking on this hateful, totally unrepresentative and sham, un-democratic government.
They will win. of course.
Let's hope more defeats follow.
21 June 2012 10:03AM
Dr. Poulter was quoted elsewhere saying that the European Working Time Directive is what stopped GPs doing out of hours emergency work - how stupid can our politicians be? GPs are self-employed and do not therefore have to comply withthe EWTD. It applies to hospitakl doctors, which as an ex-surgeon, he should know. It has managed to ruin the team-based working in hospitals however, as all doctors now work shifts, and woe betide you if you are an emergency case waiting for shift changes!
He also has no idea how GPs are paid, how much they are paid, etc. etc. Probalby best if he shuts up, really.
21 June 2012 10:03AM
And here the Tories go again. What they're actually doing is trying to raise the pensions of the lowest paid NHS employees... not squeeze every penny from wherever and whoever they can. Cameron, Osbourne, Gove, IDS, May, Lansley...what a truly revolting crew they are.
21 June 2012 10:07AM
Morning all - wondering what the local impact of the strikes might be - has anyone had trouble accessing their GP surgery or seen the doctors' strike in action?
I too heard the Radio4 today interview with the GP sitting in the radio car outside his surgery - sounded like John H was a bit confused about his being able to attend to any patients who came to the surgery, but also being on strike. What do others think?
21 June 2012 10:19AM
No idea who or what John H is but never mind.
What's hard to understand ?
If the problem is urgent ie. acute abdominal pain, the GP will see them. If its just a routine appointment for ie. medication review or a cold, they won't !
Simples, as they say.
The press are guilty of having confused the issue. The BMA made it very clear at the outset that anyone who, in their own opinion, had an urgent case requiring a doctor would be seen.
21 June 2012 10:21AM
Just twigged.
John H is John Humpries, right ?
Be honest Hannah, Humphries is getting to the stage where he would be confused if asked to go and buy a tin of tartan paint !
21 June 2012 10:21AM
Our GP practice is open and working as usual. I have just sent an unwell man into hospital.
But we are wearing protest badges and have put up information in the waiting room as to why we are protesting. This is our version of 'industrial action'.
The BMA has been pretty useless at highlighting the structural underlying problem and as a result doctors have come across as greedy.
Suggest you read these two letters to the Lancet, one of them by Tower Hamlets GPs which is where I work.
http://bit.ly/LEWK8F and http://bit.ly/LlsY7w
We have enlarged copies of the letters and hung them in the waiting room.
21 June 2012 10:24AM
Sorry, those links have not been entered properly:
Letter to Lancet by a number of consultants
Letter to Lancet by 2 Tower Hamlets GPs
21 June 2012 10:27AM
Thanks for this onegpprotest - can you say which practise this is (don't worry if not) just interested.
@parrotkeeper indeed but I think people are interested on the logistics of the strike as many associate strikes with affecting their day to day convenience and reliance on public services. John H's view not mine.
21 June 2012 10:29AM
I am all for defending against the public sector cuts, but where were the doctors when the coalition were carving up the NHS? This type of action was needed before the Health Bill was passed!
I also notice that they aren't defending the pensions of nurses and NHS support staff... but when it comes to self interest they rise to the challenge!
However, the fact that the GP community is largely dismissive of the strike is even worse-of course the GP community wont be going on strike because they have benefited the most from the restructuring of the NHS to favour GP commissioning.
Andrew Lansley's 'reforms' will be the death of the NHS as we know it, but I feel this may be a little too late from the doctors... We don't need selfish preservation of the higher paid staff, we need a united NHS community to resist the cuts.
21 June 2012 10:29AM
I am a doctor and I am taking industrial action. I am still at work, but I am providing emergency care only. I was oncall overnight, and provided care as needed, and now during the normal working day, I am also provding emergency and urgent care. This action is not a "strike" as it is being described in much of the media - but why let the facts get in the way of a good story.
I appreciate that we are well paid, have relatively secure jobs, and get a good pension, but I and many of my colleagues feel we are justified in our actions.
My primary concern is about the safety of patients. I genuinely do not believe that it will be safe to have 68 year old surgeons operating at 3am, doing operations that can last several hours without a break, or to have an anesthetist or physician treating patients in the early hours at that age. Medicine is a rapidly changing field, and it's hard enough keeping up with the changes from when I left medical school 8 years ago. It will be even harder for someone in their late sixties to maintain their clinical skills. Doctors will be presured into working beyond an age at which their competencies start to decline.
For anyone who thinks that we shouldn't not be taking this action, ask yourself this - would you be happy to be have open heart surgery, that would last several hours, performed by a 68 year old surgeon who was sleep deprived due to being oncall the previous evening?
Doctors are equally angry about the way the Health and Social Care Bill was forced through. Our worries have been ignored, despite opposition from the BMA and most of the Royal Colleges. As it was not a contractual issue, industrial action about the Bill would have been illegal.
This is not just action about doctors' pensions, but all NHS and public sector pensions. Other professions have already taken action. Personally I would have preferred it if we had taken action at the same time as other professions, as this is an issue wider than just doctors.
21 June 2012 10:30AM
There is a lot of nonsense about this industrial action on the airwaves today. I've already heard people claiming that the doctors are greedy for wanting more money when in truth all they want is the government to honour their existing contract which was signed just 4 years ago.
I’ve heard people claiming that this change has to be done to fund the pensions in the long term when the Treasury has already admitted that not one penny of increased contributions will go towards pensions but will instead go into the Treasury’s general taxation pot and as other have pointed out the 2008 deal put the entire risk of future increase on the employee, not the employer or the taxpayer.
Every time an MP talks about the need to do this they should have the comments made by the head of the OBR in this newspaper just a few months ago thrown back in their face.
21 June 2012 10:32AM
Haven't seen any evidence of MPs volunteering to pay equivalent pension contributions. Until they do then they are all nothing other than hypocrites. But I guess we all knew that anyway.
Lansley needs doctors more than they need him. He's got a whole new NHS structure to make work, and a little bit of inertia from doctors will completely screw it up.
" Don't s*** where you eat"
Still I'm sure that the private sector will happily take on managing the complex pathology and social needs of our ageing population
21 June 2012 10:40AM
I strongly disagree with this safety argument about older doctors. If I was in my 60's and in the mdeical profession I would be highly insulted to be told I cannot add value any more.
Yes, it is possible/likely that medical professionals trained in certain areas (e.g. your example of surgeons) may not be able to continue with their primary role. But surely they can be involved in training others, working on improving processes and procedures, etc (i.e. their experience would be invaluable and "retiring" them would mean the NHS would not benefit from the experience).
I appreciate this is separate to the direct article on pensions but the "to old to work" argument I find annoying and highly insulting to those in their 60's.
21 June 2012 10:45AM
I accept that it seems unfair that public sector pensions are being looked at again after 4 years. However, the previous government backed down (successful union pressure so in some ways fair enough) as they wanted to avoid stikes etc in the lead up to elections.
If you look back to industry commentators at the time, virtually all of them agreed that public sector pensions would have to be looked at again in a few years as the deal agreed did not put them on a sustainable path.
I know many will not believe this - but for many in the industry this has been on the cards for a while now.
21 June 2012 10:59AM
I'm not suggesting that people in their 60s are too old to work, but evidence shows that as age increases cognitive performance declines, particularly in the areas of divided attention, set-shifting and working memory. These are cognitive functions that are used to high degree every day by any doctor. My (and many other doctors') particular concerns are related to the high stakes attached to any medical error. The immediate stakes would probably be higher for a surgeon, but even for non surgical doctors the impact of something like a prescribing error could be just as severe for an individual patient.
21 June 2012 11:03AM
Please can any of the doctors posting on here say why the did not strike in protest against the coalitions changes to the NHS? I have no objections to the current industrial action but I would have expected more protests from the profession concerning the damage done by the actions of this government.
21 June 2012 11:06AM
The Tredegar Practice, 35 St Stephens Road, London E3 5JD
21 June 2012 11:10AM
I would have taken industrial action over the Health and Social Care Bill, as would many of my colleagues. However, as that is not an issue of pay or terms and conditions of service, as far as I'm aware, it would have been illegal to strike over it.
As a group we put as much pressure on the Government as we could. It was rejected by the BMA, by nearly all of the medical Royal Colleges, and many other professional bodies. The Government chose to ignore our opposition, and unfortunately we had no legal recourse (as far as I'm aware) to stop them.
21 June 2012 11:11AM
But without the GPs, who is there to suggest taking paracetamol, antibiotics, or referral to the hospital outpatients' clinic in the event of the symptoms not clearing up after a week?
21 June 2012 11:14AM
I am a GP. I would have been much more prepared to take industrial action over the government's health bill. How accurate this is, I do not know, but I have been told that industrial action over the health bill would have been illegal; taking industrial action over terms and conditions apparently is legal.
But let me repeat the links I posted earlier; I think these letters make a much better case for taking action, some sort of action (I think any action that actually affects patients is questionable; but there are alternatives: we could all wear some sort of badge of protest, all the time, everyday; that would get the message across to patients; and the politicians would not like that; the BMA is not creative).
Letter to Lancet by group of consultants
Letter to Lancet by 2 Tower Hamlets GPs
21 June 2012 11:16AM
Thank you for your reply. Could it not be described as an issue over terms and conditions of service though?
21 June 2012 11:17AM
I've just got back from hospital...I can report it's only the richest of doctors who are on strike...which makes sense I guess, as their pension pots will be much bigger than a poorer person's pot, so they have more to lose! Not!
21 June 2012 11:19AM
onegpprotest
21 June 2012 11:14AM
Response to abridge, 21 June 2012 11:03AM
Thank you also. I have read the links. I am following the changes to the NHS closely and will fight against it's demise in whatever way I can.
21 June 2012 11:19AM
Personally, I would go on strike for the unemployed and disabled...but who else cares enough?
21 June 2012 11:19AM
I fully agree with you and am totally behind your action which cannot be called a strike by any definition
Doctors have turned up for work today ,ready to tackle emergencies but showing what would happen if they were not there for patients and how valuable their contribution is to the well being of us all
Doctors are well paid ,sure . They have good pensions ,yes .And they deserve it for the work they have put into studying for long years ( and let's not forget you have to be of a certain calibre to get the grades to get into medical school ) and the responsibilities they assume
I am happy for my doctor to get rich rewards .
Contrast them with bankers and MP's who surely do NOT deserve them
AS with teachers ,contracts for doctors were re-drawn 4 years ago . The MP's ahould now leave them alone and sort out their own worthless gravy train
oh,but one niggle . Why didn't you do this when Lansley enforced the NHS ' reforms '
21 June 2012 11:21AM
soisthesun
21 June 2012 11:17AM
I've just got back from hospital...I can report it's only the richest of doctors who are on strike...which makes sense I guess, as their pension pots will be much bigger than a poorer person's pot, so they have more to lose! Not!
Presumably they all told you what their salary is?
21 June 2012 11:21AM
Sorry, which day of the week did you say Doctors worked? I must have missed it
21 June 2012 11:25AM
The employers' contribution (i.e. from you, me, all taxpayers) to the Parliamentary Pension Fund is currently 28.7%, twice that for doctors and five times any private sector scheme. There is no higher rate in the public sector. Ministers and MPs, not unlike the doctors, are quids in.
The parliamentary fund has liabilities of £418m which are growing. Another Ponzi scheme like the NHS’s.
Hutton and the public sector pension reforms have hardly scraped the surface of the looming disaster.
21 June 2012 11:29AM
doctors already make far too much money and give little or no help to the community. they work for pharma companies pushing drugs on vulnerable people . i dont go to the dr anymore i just get someone to tell me that ive got a virus . this saves a wasted journey and saves the dr some time . time to count their money
21 June 2012 11:32AM
I'm a doctor and on strike today. I'm in my office doing clinical audit work and my research which I would normally stay out of hours to do. My patients (inpatients, psychiatric services) will not notice any difference today; I have already shuffled my clinical work in the same way as I would if I were taking annual leave, attending teaching or unwell. I'm on the end of the phone, as always, for questions, queries and emergencies.
A good blog about us junior doctors, for those of you that think we are loaded, laughing all the way to the bank with 'gold-plated' pensions:
http://seb-pillon.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/fair-not-preferential-treatment-for-all.html
21 June 2012 11:33AM
That'll be every day, 24 hours a day.
What is it you do again?
21 June 2012 11:33AM
Try calling NHS Direct.
21 June 2012 11:33AM
Every time an MP talks about the need to do this they should have the comments made by the head of the OBR in this newspaper just a few months ago thrown back in their face.
What is OBR? Do you have a link?
21 June 2012 11:35AM
Perhaps if you went to see your doctor when you're actually ill, rather than when you've got the sniffles, perhaps you'd be told something other than "it's a virus".
21 June 2012 11:39AM
MPs have increased contributions towards their scheme (in line with otherp ublic sector pension schemes it is claimed). See
http://parliamentarystandards.org.uk/NewsAndMedia/Pages/LatestNews2.aspx?ListNews=739f9c00-b7d4-4282-bffd-9ae51fd8d92d&NewsId=35
Note, I think MPs pension clearly need to be reformed but careful thought is needed before making any changes:
- A move to CARE is likely to increase their pensions (all other things being equal) due to the actual pay rises MPs receive on the pensionable part of their earnings.
- MPs often (or at least used to until it come v political) argue their pensions should be more generous than other public sector arrangements because they would be an MP for not that long a time and struggle to get other employment etc afterwards. I (like most of the public I am assuming) thins this argument is terrible.
I could go on but the important thing is that any changs to the MPs pension is considered carefully - it is possible for a pension to look cheaper on paper, but in reality it could result in better pensions - but the key thing is they should have been at the top of the agenda (not left till last!)
21 June 2012 11:46AM
Doctors surgeries are just publically funded private businesses. GPs are way, way overpaid.
They weren't bothered about the Health and Social Care Bill until it got obliterated by Nicholson and they realised they weren't get their hands on all the money after all.
21 June 2012 11:46AM
I'm a junior doctor - i've just finished my ward round, did the jobs I needed to do and am about to go to clinic for semi-emergency fracture follow-ups.
Striking today has meant very little change in practice - the whole emphasis today was to see those patients who need seeing, and that's right and proper. Many of us would have gone on strike regarding the proposed changed to the NHS given half the chance.
The bald facts are these; my salary is about 35K. for this I work nights, weekends, evenings etc.. and put in many hours behind the scenes in research/audit and staying back late when a patient gets ill.
I know this is a good salary. But I feel I earn it.
The NHS pension pot is in surplus, thanks primarily to doctors as I understand
Doctor's renegotiated their pensions 4 years ago to 'future proof' them in case further rises were needed and ensure we provided any shortfall.
Equivalent civil servants (incl MPs) are not being asked to give the same
All the doctors I've spoken to feel the same way and are entering into industrial action with reticence. But ultimately it's not just me who relies on my pension, it's the family for whom I have to provide and that's worth fighting for.
21 June 2012 11:47AM
How do you know? Did you have access to all the doctors' payslips?
21 June 2012 11:54AM
Thank you for the support - it is appreciated. I and many of my colleagues would have taken industrial action over the Health and Social Care Bill. Unfortunately, as it is not related to the terms and conditions of service, or a pay related issue, it would have been illegal to strike on that issue.
We put as much pressure on the Government as possible, but they were not willing to listen. The bill was rejected by the BMA, several medical Royal Colleges and other professional bodies, but unfortuately the Governement just ignored us.
I also agree - this action is about all public sector pensions.
21 June 2012 11:55AM
"AS with teachers ,contracts for doctors were re-drawn 4 years ago ."
....and agreed by a (then) governing party who receives most of its funding from public sector unions, had a track record of backing away from tough decisions (e.g. as Frank "think the unthinkable" Field found out) and knew that it was going to be facing a tight election in a couple of years time.
21 June 2012 11:59AM
Perhaps the Doctors should bite the bullet and pay this or even fund their own pensions because it is no longer possible to rely on anything run by the State as offering genuine security in the future. The Final Salary pension system in the UK was effectively destroyed by Gordon Brown who took money out of pension funds in the short term but the lose of pension funds drove so many into State Funding that in the long term this will cost the State more than twice the amount taken in taxes. Every Government seems to work to cover their backside in the short term but put the Nation at major economic risk because they fail the Nation on issues for the long term. This is why we have no credible plan for Energy Provision and why there will be power cuts from about 2015 onwards during the period of the next Government and the one following and since the price of imported energy is likely to rocket, as world demand now exceeds supply, paying for this would bankrupt the economy. So Will anybody have a pension or health care or even heat and lights in 10 years time? We should look to Greece for example so that we know how to set up a soup kitchen outside every Doctors Surgery.
21 June 2012 12:01PM
These pensions reforms that are being pressed across the public sector have, in reality, very little to do with pensions provision and security.
The increased contributions called for by the coalition government are not ring-fenced to ensure the pension pots are full, they are put into the same pot as any other revenue collected by the treasury.
In fact the increased pensions contributions are simply a tax increase for public sector workers, a tax which subsidises the tax cuts for the richest.
There are too many examples of the poorer in society paying for the richer, it cannot be any longer covered up by the language used by the politicians.
21 June 2012 12:05PM
As opposed to a party funded by the private fortunes of the richest and which believes tough decisions should only be those adversely affecting the deprived and vulnerable.
21 June 2012 12:05PM
GP's are NOT overpaid - it is a lifetime commitment. This is about the Government stealing pension money. The likes of Jimmy Carr are overpaid.
21 June 2012 12:06PM
A Tweet from a retired GP this morning said this:
'Danny Alexander “The new pensions will be substantially more affordable to alternative providers”. Thats govt agenda'
This is something to keep in mind in this debate.
21 June 2012 12:09PM
What do you want the doctor to tell you if you've got a virus then? You will be complaining that you did not get any antiBIOTICS next .......