 of people blame the Government. The British Medical Association (BMA), which commissioned the survey, said the findings showed ministers' attempts to blame doctors 'have not convinced the public'. The union accused Rishi Sunak of using striking doctors as 'scapegoats' for his failure to bring down waiting lists, which hit another new record last month. Both junior doctors and consultants took joint action earlier this month for the first time in the history of the NHS. More than a million appointments have been cancelled since this wave of strikes began. Nurses, ambulance staff and physio were all also taking mass industrial action but this ended in the summer after they accepted the Government's pay deal. Junior doctors and consultants will join a protest rally in Manchester on Tuesday, when the Conservative party conference is being held in the city. BMA chair of council Prof Phil Banfield said doctors 'are fed up of being told we are the problem with the NHS'. 'It is not fair for the Government to continue to blame doctors or other healthcare workers for their own failure to properly resource the health service in England,' he said. 'What we see today is that the public largely sees through that excuse: many more appointments and operations are cancelled outsi){kind=link}
Junior doctors and consultants will walk out for three days from Monday in their longest period of combined strike action – but 42% of people point the finger at ministers
The public overwhelmingly blames the Government, not striking doctors, for growing NHS waiting lists, new figures show.
Junior doctors and consultants will walk out for three days from Monday in their longest period of combined strike action. But 42% of people point the finger at ministers for lists rising from 2.6million in 2010 to a record of 7.7million. It is almost three times the proportion of people who blame striking doctors, with just 15% of the public thinking it’s their fault. Even among 2019 Tory voters, more than a fifth (22%) of people blame the Government.
The British Medical Association (BMA), which commissioned the survey, said the findings showed ministers’ attempts to blame doctors “have not convinced the public”. The union accused Rishi Sunak of using striking doctors as “scapegoats” for his failure to bring down waiting lists, which hit another new record last month.
Both junior doctors and consultants took joint action earlier this month for the first time in the history of the NHS. More than a million appointments have been cancelled since this wave of strikes began.