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Lord Robert Winston, a professor and TV doctor who was a pioneer of IVF treatment, has resigned from the British Medical Association (BMA) over planned strikes by resident doctors.<\/p>\n
Resident doctors, previously known as junior doctors, are planning a walkout for five consecutive days from 25 July until 30 July over a pay dispute with the government. <\/p>\n
In an interview with The Times, the Labour peer and host of the BBC series Child of Our Time urged against strike action, arguing it could damage people’s trust in the profession.<\/p>\n
The BMA met the health secretary earlier this week and said the government had “stated it will not negotiate on pay”.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Lord Winston, 84, has been a member of the BMA since 1964.<\/p>\n
“I’ve paid my membership for a long time. I feel very strongly that this isn’t the time to be striking. I think that the country is really struggling in all sorts of ways, people are struggling in all sorts of ways,” he told The Times.<\/p>\n
“Strike action completely ignores the vulnerability of people in front of you,” he added.<\/p>\n
Resident doctors have been awarded a 5.4% pay rise for this financial year<\/a> – which will go into pay packets from August – following a 22% increase over the previous two years.<\/p>\n But the BMA says wages are still around 20% lower in real terms than in 2008.<\/p>\n Health Secretary Wes Streeting said the move was “unnecessary and unreasonable”, adding: “The NHS is hanging by a thread – why on earth are they threatening to pull it?”<\/p>\n The BMA’s resident doctors committee co-chairs Dr Melissa Ryan and Dr Ross Nieuwoudt said they had “no choice” but to strike without “a credible offer to keep on the path to restore our pay”. <\/p>\n Lord Winston’s comments come after doctors and patient groups warned that the NHS in England was struggling to reduce wait times<\/a> – a top priority for the NHS.<\/p>\n “Doctors need to be reminded that every time they have a patient in front of them they have someone who is frightened and in pain. It’s important that doctors consider their own responsibility much more seriously,” he said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n