JUNIOR doctors have been told to end “morally indefensible” strikes which will ruin Christmas for thousands of patients stuck on wards.
Their union was urged by strike mediator Acas to restart negotiations, as Age UK warned the elderly faced a miserable festive season in hospital with nobody to discharge them.
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Members of the British Medical Association are in the middle of a three-day strike — with more in January — demanding a 35 per cent pay rise.
But junior doctors are isolating themselves by refusing to compromise and fracturing work relationships with colleagues who cover for them during strikes, reports say.
Tory MP Caroline Johnson, a working NHS doctor, said the strikes “threaten public safety”.
She told The Sun: “Causing patients suffering in the pursuit of more money is, in my view, morally indefensible.”
NHS figures show there were 13,000 patients waiting to go home last week.
Age UK boss Caroline Abrahams said: “If you are an older person who is stuck in hospital, that’s a pretty miserable way to spend Christmas. These strikes have gone on long enough.”
Acas said it had a team ready to mediate if asked.
Tonight, ministers kicked off next year’s NHS pay review but warned nurses and ambulance crews against big rises.