Exposed: Medics causing havoc over festive break BOAST about extended Christmas holiday in leaked messages
Junior doctors and medical consultant members of the British Medical Association (BMA) on the picket line
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Striking junior doctors have been boasting about having an extended Christmas holiday, it has been claimed.
Leaked messages uncovered by The Daily Express showed unnamed medics sharing laughing emoji faces after discussing industrial action over the festive period.
Accompanying their message with a money bag emoji, one said: "Yes. Strike rates.”
Another simply gloated about taking a “holiday” with a laughing emoji face.
WATCH NOW: GB News discuss recent NHS strikes
Responding to the messages one of the junior doctors’ colleagues accused their own co-workers of “trying to cause chaos”.
They said: “Junior doctors strike… also known as extra unpaid leave to extend a Christmas break.
“They’re about maximum disruption with minimal personal inconvenience.
“The narrative that there’s no ‘harder decision’ for a doctor than striking is nonsense.
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Striking NHS junior doctors on the picket line
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“People love it. From what I see people are more bothered about extra time off than lost money on the whole.
“At least be intelligent enough not to say it in public.
“They can’t expect a deal. Regardless of what they do The BMA saying ‘no credible offer’ is meaningless if they only think 35 per cent is credible. They are just trying to cause chaos.”
Industrial action will take place for three days from December 20 and six days from January 3.
Health Secretary Victoria Atkins
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Health Secretary Victoria Atkins, who described the strikes as “disappointing”, said: “The new strikes will result in more disruption for patients and extra pressure on NHS services and staff as we enter a busy winter period, risking patient safety.”
Dr Robert Laurenson and Dr Vivek Trivedi, co-chairs of the BMA junior doctors committee, added: “We have been clear from the outset of these talks that we needed to move at pace - and if we did not have a credible offer, we would be forced to call strikes.
“After five weeks of intense talks, the government was unable to present a credible offer on pay by the deadline.
"Instead, we were offered an additional three percent, unevenly spread across doctors' grades, which would still amount to pay cuts for many doctors this year.”
Sir Julian Hartley, of NHS Providers, which represents health managers, also said: “This is the outcome that NHS leaders were dreading.”