Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Doctors stage fresh strike over pay

The latest round of industrial action is scheduled to run until Tuesday morning

Doctors stage fresh strike over pay

HOSPITAL doctors in England on Friday (11) launched a new walkout in a dispute with the government over pay in the latest strike action to hit the NHS.

The four-day strike by junior doctors comes amid record patient waiting times due to a large pandemic backlog and strikes across the economy as workers demand pay rises in response to the worst cost-of-living crisis in a generation.

Junior doctors - physicians who are not senior specialists but who may still have years of experience - make up about half of the doctors in UK hospitals.

Their industrial action began at 7 am and is scheduled to run until 7:00 am on Tuesday (15).

"This latest round of junior doctors strikes will again significantly disrupt services for patients," said NHS medical director Stephen Powis.

"The additional challenge this time is that organisations are unable to use agency workers to cover staff out on strike," he added.

The British Medical Association (BMA) says the take-home pay of junior doctors who they represent has fallen by 26 per cent in the last 15 years.

But the government says their demands are too costly.

Nurses, ambulance staff and other medical workers have all joined picket lines in recent months, mounting more pressure on the public health service.

According to NHS figures, close to 778,000 medical appointments have been postponed across the health service in England due to strike action since December.

"Patients are bearing the brunt of the impact of continuous strikes across the NHS, and further action by the BMA will cause more appointments and procedures to be postponed," health secretary Steve Barclay said.

He said a pay rise of six per cent with an additional lump-sum of £1,250 announced by the government mid-July was "final" and urged the BMA to "end its strikes immediately".

A record 7.6 million people in England were waiting to start routine hospital treatment in June, according to data published by the NHS on Thursday (10).

More For You

Air India flight crash

Debris of Air India flight 171 is pictured after it crashed in a residential area near the airport in Ahmedabad on June 13, 2025.

Getty Images

Leicester to observe silence for Air India crash victims during Rathayatra festival

A MINUTE of silence will be observed in Leicester on Sunday, June 22, to remember those who died in the recent Air India crash. The silence will take place during the inauguration of the annual Rathayatra festival of chariots in the city centre.

Organisers from the International Society for Krishna Consciousness confirmed the silence will be held at 11.20am, followed by traditional Hindu performances from Gujarat at Gallowtree Gate, outside Sports Direct.

Keep ReadingShow less
uk-energy-bill-iStock

The discount is funded and distributed by energy companies across England, Scotland and Wales, but the government decides who qualifies. (Representational image: iStock)

iStock)

Millions more to get £150 off energy bills under new Warm Home Discount rules

MILLIONS of households in Britain will receive £150 off their energy bills this winter after the government changed the eligibility rules for the Warm Home Discount.

People on means-tested benefits will now automatically qualify for the discount, regardless of their property's size or energy score. This change is expected to extend support to 2.7 million additional households, including nearly a million with children.

Keep ReadingShow less
Sisters drown in Snowdonia pools during trip with friends

Haleema Zahid

Sisters drown in Snowdonia pools during trip with friends

TWO sisters studying at the University of Chester have drowned in mountain pools while visiting Snowdonia with university friends, an inquest has heard.

Hajra Zahid, 29, and Haleema Zahid, 25, were pulled from the water at the Watkin Pools at Eryri in the Nant Gwynant area of Gwynedd on June 11.

Keep ReadingShow less
Croydon couple dies in Air India crash after baby shower trip

Vaibhav Patel and his wife Jinal Goswami

Croydon couple dies in Air India crash after baby shower trip

A YOUNG couple from Croydon were among those killed in last week's devastating Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad, it has been confirmed.

Vaibhav Patel, 29, and his pregnant wife Jinal Goswami, 27, died when their flight crashed just moments after takeoff on June 12. Goswami was seven months pregnant with the couple's first child, reports said.

Keep ReadingShow less
Iran-Israel-clash-Reuters

Smoke rises following an Israeli attack in Tehran on June 18, 2025.

Reuters

Israel hits nuclear reactors in Iran; hospital struck in retaliation

ISRAEL launched airstrikes on key Iranian nuclear facilities on Thursday, while Iranian missiles damaged an Israeli hospital, escalating the ongoing conflict between the two countries.

Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would continue its campaign until Iran's nuclear programme is destroyed. “The tyrants of Tehran will pay the full price,” he said.

Keep ReadingShow less