BMA: Doctors’ strike sent ‘strong message’ to government

The British Medical Association (BMA) has claimed that the strike action taken by doctors this week has sent a "strong message" to the government over its controversial NHS pension reform plans.

Initial analysis from the BMA suggests that one-third of GP practices staged some form of industrial action yesterday (June 21st 2012), while up to one-quarter of non-urgent cases were postponed.

These estimates suggest a higher level of participation than the government's figures suggest, with the BMA stating that accurate numbers are difficult to obtain due to the fact that even those doctors taking part were mostly at their usual place of work.

However, BMA council chairman Dr Hamish Meldrum said the day of action has nevertheless shown the strength of feeling among the medical profession over proposed pension cuts.

He added: "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."

Responding to the industrial action, health secretary Andrew Lansley called on the BMA to ensure that patients whose appointments were cancelled are seen to as soon as possible.