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28 Sep 2012
The BMA in Scotland today announced plans to ballot for industrial action in the heart of winter.
It said members will be balloted in November, with the planned days for action falling on December 12, followed by two further days on January 8 and 17, 2013.
That would mean hospital doctors going on strike at a time when wards are already under pressure due to a range of seasonal illnesses.
The organisation added it would go ahead with the ballot unless the Scottish Government offered an alternative on changes to the NHS pension scheme.
It follows on from UK-wide industrial action earlier this year.
Scottish Conservative health spokesman and deputy leader Jackson Carlaw MSP said:
“Have they learned nothing from the previous industrial action, which achieved absolutely nothing?
“All they have done is prejudice patients against them, and once that trust in doctors is lost, it is very hard to get back.
“The timing could not be worse, at a time when seasonal flu and norovirus – alongside other challenges – mean hospitals are far busier than normal.
“The Scottish Government also has a responsibility in this because it raised expectations on pensions unrealistically.”
