Repeat prescription for health sector

The imminent junior doctor strike set to hit Irish patients is not the first time non-consultant hospital doctors have taken to the streets to voice their concerns.

More than a quarter of a century ago, in autumn 1987, a near identical scene occurred — underlining the fact that the issues hitting the headlines have gone unresolved for decades.

Almost three decades ago, the aim of strike was to increase overtime payments, with medics believing the move would make health bosses decrease the amount of overtime requests they made.

The fortnight-long action was sparked after managers suggested overtime payments should be stopped when junior doctors were having a meal or sleeping — an issue which proved to be the straw that broke the camel’s back.

The strike lasted for two weeks and, in the words of consultant rheumatologist Mark Pugh, who at the time was a junior doctor, did not cause a substantial increase in problems for patients.

However, in a British Medical Journal full-textblog post, Dr Pugh admits that, 26 years on, he still believes “going on strike is not something any doctor will find easy”.

“We want to help patients; using them as pawns runs counter to the reasons why we do medicine,” he said.

In the subsequent decades, junior doctors have come close to walking out over crisis situations they face on a daily basis, many of which are caused by chronic problems in the health service.

However, while there have been ballots since and protests at individual facilities, this week’s step is the closest doctors have come to the picket lines.