Resident doctors in England will begin a five-day strike on Friday, prompting concerns from NHS officials about the potential impact on patient care. Prof Tim Briggs, a national director at NHS England, expressed worries that the strike, despite doctors' right to protest, will harm patients, affecting both emergency and non-urgent care. While NHS England aims to maintain most non-urgent care, the BMA (British Medical Association) contends this approach is unsafe and advocates for the cancellation of non-urgent care to better support emergency services. This strike is the 11th in an ongoing pay dispute.

Prof Briggs highlighted the detrimental effects of cancelling non-urgent care, citing past experiences where delayed treatment caused harm to patients. BMA leader Dr Tom Dolphin apologized for the necessity of the strike, assuring patients that emergency care will still be available, and stated that the strike could have been avoided with a more substantial pay restoration plan. Talks between the government and the BMA broke down on Tuesday, failing to reach an agreement on issues like financial support for exam fees, equipment, faster career progression, and student loan write-offs. The government refused to revisit this year's 5.4% average pay rise for resident doctors. NHS managers also criticized the high shift rates requested by senior doctors covering for striking colleagues.

Impact Statement: The strike is expected to significantly disrupt healthcare services in England, potentially delaying or cancelling thousands of treatments and appointments. The high cost of employing senior doctors to cover the strike poses an additional challenge for the NHS.