“A nightmare. Absolute nightmare. It can’t happen.”
Those were the words of a senior NHS Trust leader when I called to break the news of joint action by junior doctors and consultants over four days across England in October.
This will effectively bring the NHS to a grinding halt.
Christmas-style rotas will be in place to cover emergencies. But that’s it.
It is the worst-case scenario and one that was always likely to happen no matter how unpalatable it seemed.
A senior consultant told me as much today.
“We’re effectively both doctors,” he said. “So it makes sense.”
It makes even more sense when you consider how deeply entrenched both sides are.
The government and the BMA are not even talking.
And this is what, I sense, really infuriates the medics.
They tell me Health Secretary Steve Barclay refuses to talk to them, and just ignores them.
And that causes even more resentment.
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Doctors in Scotland have accepted a pay deal – so it shows a settlement can be reached.
The government might think that because it got the nursing unions to accept a pay deal it might be able to do the same with the doctors and consultants.
If they think that then they are seriously misunderstanding the strength of feeling.
Both consultants and junior doctors have a mandate for months of strike action deep into the winter.
If last year’s NHS crisis was bad, this year’s could be a lot worse.