Senior NHS doctors have demanded an 11 per cent pay rise as they take to picket lines for the third time this year.

Junior doctors will then stage a joint walkout with the senior medics tomorrow and continue their own action until 7am on Saturday.

While sick Brits have been told to use emergency care as normal, health chiefs have warned patients face ‘the highest level of risk in living memory’.

But Dr Vishal Sharma, chair of the British Medical Association’s (BMA) consultants’ committee, which is coordinating the action, this morning claimed a ‘save level of service’ would be provided.

Consultants walked out of hospitals at 7am this morning as part of a 48-hour strike and are providing a ‘ Christmas Day’ level of service – meaning routine appointments and operations set to be significantly disrupted. Pictured, consultant members of the BMA on the picket line outside University College London hospital in August

The BMA also said it had written to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Health Secretary Steve Barclay outlining the ‘key asks’ needed to end the pay dispute.

In the letter sent to Mr Sunak yesterday, Dr Sharma said the BMA has always been clear that ‘strikes could be avoided if the Government was to present us with a credible offer that we could put to our members.’

He added: ‘We are willing to negotiate with Government at any stage, but for strike action to be stood down we need to be able to present our members with an offer and cannot cancel strikes simply to enter talks.’ 

The BMA says consultants pay has been cut in real-terms since 2008 and is calling for pay restoration and reform of the pay review body that advises ministers on salary increases.

It claims their income has increased by 14 per cent over this period. 

Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme this morning, he also said: ‘This has happened because the NHS staff across across the whole sector are really demoralised, they’re really burnt out and they’ve been forced into taking strike action.’

He said consultants wanted an above-inflation pay award for this year, which in April was running about 11 per cent.

‘That’s a very similar amount to what was offered to doctors in Scotland and it shows it’s absolutely possible to actually do that, if there’s the right political will,’ he added.

Last month, BMA members in Scotland accepted the SNP Government’s offer of a 14.5 per cent pay increase for junior doctors and doctors in training over two years. 

Consultants in England have already  staged four days of strike action, while junior doctors have taken to the picket lines on 19 separate days. 

But last week NHS bosses blamed medic strikes for heaping extra pressure onto already struggling hospitals — with 400,000 appointments rescheduled this summer due to walkouts. 

Some 885,154 appointments have been postponed since NHS industrial action — which has involved staff including doctors, nurses, physiotherapists and paramedics — kicked-off in December.

If all community and mental health figures are included, the total rises to more than 940,000 — though this will not reflect the overall number of actual cancellations, due to some duplication of data.

NHS leaders also said the real impact of strikes is masked by the data, as many hospitals have stopped booking in surgeries and other appointments on announced strike days. 

Fresh NHS data last week also showed around 7.68million patients in England — or one in seven people — were in the queue in July for procedures such hip and knee replacements. 

The toll marks the highest figures logged since NHS records began in August 2007.

For comparison, around 4.4million were stuck in the system when the pandemic reached the UK. 

But this morning Dr Sharma said the growing NHS waiting lists ‘have not been caused by the strikes’ and ‘were going up well before the pandemic’.

England’s backlog, for procedures like hip and knee replacements, now stands at 7.6million, official figures revealed last week. It means roughly one in seven people across the country are currently stuck in the system awaiting care. More than 380,000 patients have gone a year without being treated, often in agony

He said this had led to ‘huge pressure on the whole NHS workforce’, adding that ‘the consultant workforce is absolutely burnt out’ and struggling to recruit.

The NHS Confederation however, which represents all NHS organisations, said increasing numbers of patients, including cancer patients, are seeing their appointments rescheduled more than once due to strikes.

Matthew Taylor, chief executive of the organisation, said: ‘This is likely to be the biggest walkout the NHS has ever seen, will cause serious disruption, and put patients at the highest level of risk in living memory.

‘Leaders are concerned that this dangerous situation is being underestimated by the Government, telling us that this feels much different and more complex than previous strikes.’

Many are reporting ‘greater difficulties in rota planning and having to cancel huge numbers of elective operations and appointments in advance’, he added. 

‘This is much worse than before as we’re now seeing patients who have already had an operation cancelled due to industrial action be hit again with a cancellation to their rescheduled appointment,’ he said.

‘Leaders have also told us that this time round a higher number of operations and appointments for cancer patients are being cancelled, meaning that some of the very sickest patients may be suffering the most.’

In July consultants and junior doctors were given a six per cent pay rise under No. 10’s pay offer.

At the time, Rishi Sunak said the deal, announced in July for 2023/24, was the Government’s ‘final offer’. 

Nurses, paramedics and other NHS staff received a five per cent rise and ‘NHS backlog bonus’.

The BMA however immediately rejected the rise, vowing to crack on with strike action. 

The action today also comes as the Government this week outlined plans to extend strike laws to ensure more healthcare workers, including doctors and nurses, in hospitals provide a minimum level of cover.

The regulations, which could come into force next year, would mean doctors and nurses would have to provide a certain level of cover after being issued with a ‘work notice’ by employers on what is needed to maintain ‘necessary and safe levels of service’.

In July, the new strike law was granted Royal Assent, allowing ministers to impose minimum levels of service during industrial action by ambulance staff, firefighters, railway workers and those in other sectors deemed essential. 

Currently life-and-limb cover has to be provided in hospitals during strike action, but the extent of that is negotiated locally. 

Steve Barclay told Sky News this morning: ‘What we’re announcing today is how we protect time-critical hospital services, so things like chemotherapy, things like dialysis, because we recognise the right to strike is important, but we’ve got to balance that with also the right of patients to key treatments.’

He claimed France and Italy already had such measures in place.

Consultants in England have already staged four days of strike action, while junior doctors have taken to the picket lines on 19 separate days. Last week NHS bosses blamed medic strikes for heaping extra pressure onto already struggling hospitals — with 400,000 appointments rescheduled this summer due to walkouts. But this morning Dr Sharma said the growing NHS waiting lists ‘have not been caused by the strikes’ and ‘were going up well before the pandemic’. Pictured BMA consultant members on the picket line outside Leeds General Infirmary in July 

The action today also comes as the Government this week outlined plans to extend strike laws to ensure more healthcare workers, including doctors and nurses, in hospitals provide a minimum level of cover. Steve Barclay told Sky News this morning: ‘What we’re announcing today is how we protect time-critical hospital services, so things like chemotherapy, things like dialysis, because we recognise the right to strike is important, but we’ve got to balance that with also the right of patients to key treatments’

But Saffron Cordery, deputy chief executive of NHS Providers, said the Government’s proposed minimum service levels risk ‘worsening industrial relations at a time when we need Government and unions to get around the table and enter into talks to avert further escalation and disruption to patient care.’

She said: ‘Strike action in the NHS over the past ten months has undoubtedly been disruptive for patients and staff.

‘This legislation – as well as the consultation announced today- doesn’t address any of the issues underlying current strike action, including dissatisfaction with pay and working conditions.

‘With unprecedented joint action by consultants and junior doctors just days away, we need government and unions to sit down and talk urgently.’

Last week however, Mr Barclay said there would be no more talks about pay with the BMA, claiming, ‘we made a fair and final settlement in terms of pay’. 

Yesterday, NHS national medical director professor Sir Stephen Powis said: ‘The NHS has simply never seen this kind of industrial action in its history. 

‘This week’s first ever joint action means almost all planned care will come to a stop, and hundreds of thousands of appointments will be postponed, which is incredibly difficult for patients and their families, and poses an enormous challenge for colleagues across the NHS.’  

Emergency care – through A&E departments and 999 – is still available but patients have been told to contact NHS 111 or their local pharmacy for minor health worries. 

Hospital patients who have an appointment and ‘who haven’t been contacted should attend as normal’, Sir Stephen added. 

Sandra Bullock‘s partner Bryan Randall’s death has sparked a 500 per cent increase in donations to the ALS (known as MND in the UK) Association.

The photographer died on Saturday aged 57 after a secret three-year ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) battle. 

After the family asked for people to donate to the ALS Association instead of sending or buying flowers. 

Sandra’s sister Gesine wrote in an Instagram post: ‘In lieu of flowers, please donate to ALS Association and Massachusetts General Hospital (links in bio).’

The ALS Association told TMZ that now donations were up 500 per cent over the same time last year in a funding spike. 

They told the publication: ‘We’re grateful for the amazing outpouring of support in honor of Bryan.’

Good cause: Sandra Bullock’s partner Bryan Randall’s death has sparked a 500 per cent increase in donations to the ALS Association

Kind: After his death the family asked for people to donate to the ALS Association instead of sending or buying flowers (Sandra is pictured) 

‘The money pouring in will help our urgent work to make ALS a livable disease through local care, national advocacy, and global ALS research.’

Sandra called her partner Bryan ‘very patient,’ ‘a saint’ and ‘evolved on a level that is not human’ in a 2021 interview amid his secret ALS battle that led to his tragic passing on Saturday.

The 59-year-old actress spoke about Randall, a photographer, in a 2021 edition of Red Table Talk with Jada Pinkett Smith, Willow Smith and Adrienne Banfield-Norris.

‘He’s the example that I would want my children to have,’ the Oscar-winning star said of Randall, who died after battling the disease for three years privately.

In the exchange, Bullock also said that she didn’t feel the need to exchange vows with Randall amid their committed relationship.

‘I am someone who went through the divorce process,’ Bullock said. ‘I found the love of my life. We share two beautiful children – three children, his older daughter. It’s the best thing ever.

‘So, I don’t want to say do it like I do it, but I don’t need a paper to be a devoted partner or a devoted mother.’

Bullock, who was previously wed to Jesse James from 2005-2010, said she didn’t ‘need to be told to be ever-present in the hardest of times’ or ‘to weather a storm with a good man.’.

Sad: The photographer died on Saturday aged 57 after a secret three-year ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) battle

Thoughtful: Sandra’s sister Gesine said in an Instagram post that in lieu of flowers people could donate to the ALS Association

Family time: Bullock has two adopted children — son Louis, 13, and daughter Laila, 11 — and Bryan has an adult daughter named Skylar from a previous relationship (seen in 2018)

The Speed actress spoke about the relationship dynamics she shared with Randall, a one-time model, and the example he set for her two children – son Louis, 13, and daughter Laila, 10. Randall was also father to daughter Skylar Staten, 29, from a past relationship.

‘There’s two very different ways of looking at things,’ Bullock said. ‘And I don’t always agree with him. He doesn’t always agree with me.

‘But he is an example even when I don’t agree with him that I go, “If they can take away from that, and if that is where they feel drawn to, then he’s the exact right parent.”‘

The Bird Box actress attested to Randall’s faith in the chat, saying, ‘I have a partner who’s very Christian.’

The Blind Side star and Bryan initially crossed paths in 2015 when he was on hand to take pictures for her son’s birthday celebration.

They were last seen publicly in July of 2020 in Studio City, California while out with her two kids.

In the Red Table Talk outing, she said that Randall was a positive presence for her as a parent, though he was not involved in the adoption process.

‘I had Louis first,’ she said. ‘And then when I met Randall, and I was like, and we hadn’t been together that long.’

She continued: ‘I go, “You remember that NDA you signed when you photographed my son?” He was like, “Yeah.” He’s still scared. His whole life had been unraveled because of me.

‘And I said, “You know, that still holds.” And he was like, “Yeah, OK, OK, OK, why?” And I was like, “Cause I’m bringing a child home when I come back from Toronto.” And he was like, “Sorry, what?”‘

Bullock said that her partner was simultaneously ‘so happy, but … scared’ at the development.

Randall’s family issued a statement to People confirming his death, saying, ‘It is with great sadness that we share that on Aug. 5, Bryan Randall passed away peacefully after a three-year battle with ALS.

‘Bryan chose early to keep his journey with ALS private and those of us who cared for him did our best to honor his request.’

The statement continued: ‘We are immensely grateful to the tireless doctors who navigated the landscape of this illness with us and to the astounding nurses who became our roommates, often sacrificing their own families to be with ours.

‘At this time we ask for privacy to grieve and to come to terms with the impossibility of saying goodbye to Bryan.’

Before her relationship with Randall, Bullock was in a high-profile romance with Monster Garage host Jesse James.

They met after she brought her motorcycle-obsessed godson on a trip to West Coast Choppers’s Long Beach headquarters in 2003. 

The pair ultimately wed in 2005, in front of 270 of their closest friends and family at a ranch in the Santa Ynez Valley.

Talent: Randall began his career as a model before becoming a photographer 

Throwback: Randall in an early shoot from his fashion days, before he stepped behind the camera 

In March 2010, days after she took home an Academy Award for her performance in The Blind Side, several women came forward about their affairs with Jesse.

A month later, Jesse checked himself into a rehab facility in Arizona for sex addiction after apologizing profusely to Bullock, although that wasn’t enough to save the marriage – they divorced the following June.

In 2017, he told DailyMail.com: ‘Yeah, I did cheat on my wife, yeah… I stood up and took accountability for it and apologised. And that’s [the] end of story.’

Bullock other exes include Chris Evans, Ryan Gosling, Bob Schneider, Matthew McConaughey, Don Padilla, Troy Aikman and Tate Donovan.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS): Details of fatal disease there is no cure for

What is it? 

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a neurogenerative disorder which impacts the nerve cells in the spinal cord and the brain, according to the Mayo Clinic. It gets progressively worse and causes significant muscle control loss in people who have it. 

Treatment 

There is no cure for ALS and the disease is fatal, but it progresses at different speeds in patients. 

Symptoms

The first signs of ALS are twitching of the muscles, weaknesses of the limbs and problems with swallowing and speaking. Progressively, it deteriorates muscle control and impacts an individual’s ability to breathe, move, speak and eat.

ALS symptoms correspond with where nerve cells deteriorate in each person, and could lead to issues walking, tripping, and weakness of the knees, ankles and hands.

It can also lead to problems with muscle cramps and twitching in areas including one’s tongue, arms and shoulders. People with ALS have experienced untimely spells of laughter, tears and yawns, as well as changes to one’s thinking process or behavior, according to the clinic.

Risk factors 

Among the risk factors researchers have established for ALS include genetics, as about 10 percent of people diagnosed with it were passed down a gene from a relative, which is called hereditary ALS, according to the clinic. Kids of people who have hereditary ALS have a 50 percent chance of having the gene.

Age is also a factor as the risk of getting the disease trends up toward the age of 75, with the most common range of people who have it between 60 and 85. In terms of gender, men are diagnosed with a higher rate of ALS prior to the age of 65, according to the clinic.

Other factors that have been linked to ALS include smoking and exposure to toxic substances. The clinic reported that military personnel have been diagnosed with ALS at a higher rate.

Causes

There is no known cause of ALS, according to the Mayo Clinic, and heredity plays a factor in a small number of cases. 

Lou Gehrig was one of baseball’s preeminent stars while playing for the Yankees between 1923 and 1939. Known as ‘The Iron Horse,’ he played in 2,130 consecutive games before ALS forced him to retire. The record was broken by Cal Ripken Jr. in 1995 

Lou Gehrig’s Disease

As well as being known as ALS, it is frequently referred to as Lou Gehrig’s disease.

Lou Gehrig was a stalwart first baseman for the New York Yankees between 1923 and 1939. He was famous for his strength and durability, earning the nickname ‘The Iron Horse’ with a record-setting streak of 2,130 consecutive games.

In a July 4, 1939 speech on Lou Gehrig Appreciation Day at Yankee Stadium, the ballplayer famously said, ‘For the past two weeks you have been reading about a bad break. Yet today I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth.’

His popularity and fame transcended the sport of baseball. He died two years after his diagnosis on June 2, 1941.

More than 70 percent of Americans do not want Joe Biden to stand for re-election in 2024, according to yet another dire poll for the president.

Biden’s approval rating also dropped to a low of 38 percent at a time when the president is facing a potentially damaging verdict from voters in the upcoming midterm elections in November.

Biden, 79, would find it almost impossible to implement his legislative agenda if Republicans take control of Congress in the elections.

The Harvard CAPS/Harris poll found that a massive 71 percent of Americans do not believe Biden should not run for a second term amid high inflation rates and soaring gas prices.

For those who believe Biden should not stand for re-election, 30 percent said it was because he was too old – he will be 81 at the 2024 election – while 45 percent said he was ‘a bad president’.

Most of those polled said that they had concerns about whether Biden was mentally fit to serve, with 60 percent saying they had doubts about his mental fitness.

More than 70 percent of Americans do not want Joe Biden to stand for re-election in 2024, according to yet another dire poll for the president

Biden, 79, would find it almost impossible to implement his legislative agenda if Republicans take control of Congress in the elections

The poll also found that whilst Biden was the favorite amongst Democrat voters in a Democratic presidential primary, only 30 percent would vote for him.

‘President Biden may want to run again but the voters say ‘no’ to the idea of a second term, panning the job he is doing as president,’ Mark Penn, the co-director of the Harvard CAPS–Harris Poll survey, told The Hill.

‘Only 30 percent of Democrats would even vote for him in a Democratic presidential primary,’ Penn added.

Meanwhile, 61 percent of those polled said that they think former President Donald Trump should not run for reelection. 

The poll found that 36 percent said Trump should not run because he is erratic, 33 percent said he would divide America and 30 per cent said he was responsible for the Jan. 6 insurrection at the US Capitol. 

A majority of those polled meanwhile said they would consider a moderate independent presidential candidate in 2024, with 60 percent saying that they could support a third person if Biden and Trump ended up securing their parties’ nominations. 

Biden’s presidency has been characterized by a series of miscalculations and unforeseen challenges.  

Biden’s approval rating also dropped to a low of 38 percent at a time when the president is facing a potentially damaging verdict from voters in the upcoming midterm elections in November

The Covid-19 pandemic’s resurgence was swiftly followed last summer by the debacle of the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, when the Taliban seized control of the country faster than the administration expected as the U.S.-backed regime collapsed. Then, negotiations over Biden’s broader domestic agenda stalled, only to collapse altogether in December.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine in late February caused a worldwide spike in gas prices, exacerbating inflation that reached a 40-year high. Another blow came last month, when the Supreme Court overturned the constitutional right to abortion under Roe v. Wade and curtailed the Environmental Protection Agency’s ability to regulate greenhouse gas emissions.

Suddenly a reactive president, Biden has been left trying to reclaim the initiative at every step, often with mixed results. The coronavirus is less of a threat than before and infections are far less likely to lead to death, but Congress is refusing to supply more money to deal with the pandemic.

Biden signed new gun restrictions into law after massacres in New York and Texas, and he’s leading a reinvestment in European security as the war in Ukraine enters its fifth month. But he has limited tools at his disposal to deal with other challenges, such as rising costs and eroding access to abortion.

‘People are grouchy,’ said Lindsay Chervinsky, a presidential historian.

Douglas Brinkley, another historian, said Biden suffered from a case of presidential hubris after a largely successful run in his first five months in office, which included an overseas trip to meet with allies excited about welcoming a friendly face back to the international scene. He compared Biden’s Fourth of July speech last year to President George W. Bush’s infamous ‘Mission Accomplished’ moment during the second Iraq War.

‘He was trying to deliver good news but it didn’t pan out for him,’ Brinkley said. ‘Suddenly, Biden lost a lot of goodwill.’

White House officials reject the comparison, noting that Biden warned about the ‘powerful’ delta variant in his 2021 speech. Chris Meagher, a spokesman, said deaths from the virus are at a record low now, reducing disruptions in workplaces and classrooms.

‘Fighting inflation and lowering prices is the president’s number one economic priority, and he’s laser focused on doing everything he can to make sure the economy is working for the American people,’ he said. 

‘And we’re in a strong position to transition from our historic jobs recovery to stable and steady growth. Because of the work we’ve done to bring the pandemic under control, COVID is not the disruptive factor it has been for so long.’