NHS leaders have for the first time said that junior doctor and consultant strike action is “causing significant disruption and risk to patients”.
In a letter to BMA chair Professor Phil Banfield, senior figures in NHS England said they were “extremely concerned” that Christmas Day levels of cover were “insufficient to ensure appropriate levels of patient safety” across local health systems.
Doctors have been staging a three-day walkout – known as Christmas Day cover – which began on Monday at 7am.
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