‘Not affordable for the taxpayer!’ Victoria Atkins says junior doctor demands are ‘unreasonable’

Victoria Atkins has claimed the latest junior doctor demands are "not affordable for the taxpayer".

Junior doctors in England staged a six-day walkout from January 3 to January 9.

"We have to find a solution to this", Atkins added.

NHS England figures show the strike led to 113,779 inpatient and outpatient appointments being rescheduled.

It means a total of 1.33 million inpatient and outpatient hospital appointments have been cancelled in England since the current spell of industrial action began in the NHS in December 2022.

Speaking on Tuesday, BMA juniordoctors’ committee co-chairs Dr Robert Laurenson and Dr Vivek Trivedi said: “Juniordoctors are ready to settle this dispute once and for all.

“(Health Secretary) Victoria Atkins on Monday evening said she’s keen to deliver a ‘fair and reasonable’ outcome. We are ready to talk about that fair outcome at her earliest convenience.”