Next week Britain’s junior doctors will stage a full walkout for the first time in the history of the NHS. It would be disingenuous to deny this will have consequences for trust. Accusations are already flying that junior doctors, blind to the corrosive power of mistrust, are prepared to trade their patients’ belief in them for self-interest. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Trust is a doctor’s greatest asset, and it is critical to good care. Without trust, compliance with treatment falls, and patients think twice about seeking help. Polls show that the strikes haven’t much damaged that trust so far. But will public support wane during a full strike? The General Medical Council, our professional regulator, has said doctors should not strike in hard-hit hospitals in case patients suffer harm.
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