Doctors’ Strikes Played Part in £3 Billion NHS Half-Year Overspend: Report

A think tank has calculated that doctors’ strikes played a major part in the NHS overspending by £3 billion in the first half of the year. In a report on Tuesday, the independent health think tank Nuffield Trust also warned that the situation could rapidly deteriorate if more junior doctor and consultant strikes are called before the end of the financial year. The trust said that the half-year estimated £3 billion overspend is the result of the NHS outstripping its day-to-day budget, covering staff pay and clinical supplies. It said that the staffing and logistical costs of strike action by NHS staff groups has “overwhelmed this further.”...