MEMBERS of the Asian community gathered in London to mourn Payal Patel, daughter of Hemu and Sandhya Patel, proprietors of Club 2000 Restaurant in Rayners Lane. She was 43.
More than 800 people gathered to pay their respects at the Satavis Patidar Centre in London on Monday (2).
The funeral will take place on Thursday (5) at 1 pm at Chilterns Crematorium, Whielden Lane, Amersham HP7 0ND
Staff members hold placards as they stand on a picket line on the first day of a five-day resident doctors' strike outside St Thomas' Hospital in central London on November 14, 2025. (Photo by CARLOS JASSO/AFP via Getty Images)
THOUSANDS of doctors across England began a five-day strike on Friday (14), walking out over disputes about pay and training opportunities. This marks the 13th strike by medical staff since March 2023.
The industrial action, which started at 7am, involves resident doctors – those below consultant level who make up around half of the hospital medical workforce. The strike will continue until Wednesday (19) morning and affects both emergency and routine care.
Health secretary Wes Streeting strongly criticised the British Medical Association (BMA), the doctors' union, accusing them of "choosing confrontation over care". Writing in the Daily Telegraph, he said: "This strike isn't about fairness any more. It's about political posturing."
Streeting pointed out that doctors have received a 28.9 per cent pay rise over the past three years, the highest award across the entire public sector. He insisted the government "cannot and will not move on pay".
However, the BMA argued that doctors still need a 26 per cent pay increase to restore their earnings to what they were worth two decades ago when inflation is taken into account. Dr Tom Dolphin, BMA council chairman, said: "We've got pay that is still a fifth down on the value that it had in 2008."
The union is also demanding more training posts. Currently, more than 30,000 doctors are competing for just 10,000 training places needed to progress towards becoming consultants. This leaves many doctors without permanent jobs after years of training.
NHS England said it aims to keep 95 per cent of non-urgent operations and appointments running by redeploying senior doctors and offering overtime. However, the five-day walkout is expected to cost £240 million to cover.
Some patients have already faced cancellations. Colette Houlihan, 68, from Cambridgeshire, was due to have a pre-surgery appointment but it has been pushed back to late December. "I am furious," she said. "By striking they ignore the Hippocratic Oath – first and foremost do no harm."
Dr Tom Dolphin defended the strike, saying doctors had a legal right to take action and should not be "bullied or coerced" into working. He added that UK doctors can earn two or sometimes three times more in countries like Ireland, Australia and Canada.
"We want to negotiate, we want a settlement to this. We don't want to be on strike. We'd much rather be looking after the patients," he said.
Meanwhile, resident doctors in Scotland have begun voting on whether to take similar strike action.
(with inputs from AFP)
By clicking the 'Subscribe’, you agree to receive our newsletter, marketing communications and industry
partners/sponsors sharing promotional product information via email and print communication from Garavi Gujarat
Publications Ltd and subsidiaries. You have the right to withdraw your consent at any time by clicking the
unsubscribe link in our emails. We will use your email address to personalize our communications and send you
relevant offers. Your data will be stored up to 30 days after unsubscribing.
Contact us at data@amg.biz to see how we manage and store your data.
