Army poised to cover for sriking NHS doctors.
Army medical staff are expected to be drafted into NHS hospitals as cover for striking junior doctors, according to a document uncovered by The Telegraph.
The first of three strikes by junior doctors is due to begin on Tuesday Dec 1, when only emergency care is planned, with full stoppages on December 8 and December 16. It would be the first full walkout by doctors in NHS history.
In official guidance on industrial action issued by the British Medical Association (BMA), it said it expects medics from the Armed Forces will be used to help plug the gap on strike days. “The law does not permit them to take part in industrial action, but their support for services during the industrial action is welcome,” a BMA spokesman said. “We don’t expect there will be a huge number of Army turning up at hospitals, but we are expecting a number of Army medics.”
At:: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/nhs/12022876/Army-poised-to-cover-for-striking-NHS-doctors.html
