Junior doctors have entered a second day of strike action as the bitter dispute over pay shows no sign of being resolved.
Health Secretary Steve Barclay said the timing of the strike was “regrettable” and he accused the British Medical Association (BMA) of putting patients at “greater risk” after not agreeing any national exemptions for strike action for some services, such as cancer care.
The Government and the union appeared to be deadlocked after Downing Street insisted there will be no talks unless junior doctors abandon their starting position of a 35 per cent rise and call off the strikes.
It comes as hospital bosses expressed concern about keeping patients safe as they struggle to secure cover for overnight junior doctor shifts during strikes.
Discussing the issue on Good Morning Britain, Richard Madeley compared the strike action to junior doctors refusing to help a patient face-to-face, which would be against their Hippocratic oath.
Mercifully, the comments got the treatment they deserved:
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