UK Health Minister Steve Barclay has warned that patient safety is at risk as a four-day strike by medical specialists begins today and is expected to cause many problems.

Tens of thousands of medical specialists are planning to go on strike demanding higher wages in line with inflation, meaning many surgeries and other medical appointments at NHS public hospitals will be cancelled.

Matthew Taylor, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, told Sky News he expects “up to 350,000 appointments” to be canceled as a result of the four-day strike.

The British Medical Association (BMA), the trade union that represents doctors, is demanding a 35% increase, citing that its members have actually cut wages by 26% over the past 15 years. In March, specialist doctors held three-day mobilizations.

“The strikes will not only endanger patient safety, they were planned to cause as many disturbances as possible during the Easter holidays,” Barclay said in a statement.

Medical specialists – about 75,000 people – make up the majority of the British medical staff. They emphasize that the strikes could have been prevented if the Minister of Health had come up with a reasonable proposal.

For his part, Barclay says the specialists’ demands are unfounded and mean an increase of more than £20,000 (about €22,000) for some.

This strike is the latest mobilization involving NHS workers after strikes by nurses, ambulance workers and others demanding higher wages to match inflation, which has topped 10% in the UK.

Source: APE-MPE, Reuters, SkyNews.