Doctors on Strike Use Downtime to Teach Parents Life-Saving Lessons

Junior doctors in England didn't sit idly while on strike. They're making use of their downtime by teaching parents important life-saving lessons.

According to The Guardian, junior doctors are conducting classes at the Trafalgar pub near St. George's hospital in south London. Their lectures include teaching parents how to properly perform CPR as well as how to safely relieve a choking child.

"The idea is that junior doctors are volunteering their time on the strike days to talk to parents about life support for children," explained St. George hospital registrar Dagan Lonsdale. "The idea is to just do something positive on the day of industrial action because junior doctors aren't people for standing around braziers on a picket line."

The 48-hour strike began on Wednesday morning when doctors walked out in a row after learning about the government's new terms. The dispute over working hours, pay and patient safety has taken its toll on hospitals.

BBC reported that this week's work stoppage has prompted the cancellations of more than 5,000 operations and treatments. The total number of cancellations brought about by the dispute has now reached 19,000.

Junior doctors who didn't conduct parenting classes took to the streets on Wednesday to blame labor leader Jeremy Corbyn for ignoring their plight. They accused Corbyn of deliberately not raising the issue in parliament despite the overwhelming calls for him to do so, as per The Telegraph.

"I don't feel surprised. It's a familiar sense of anger that this is slipping down the political and public agenda when all of us have so much strength of feeling," said Dr. Joe Lipton. "I'm disappointed there isn't a vocal opposing speaking on our behalf."

Health secretary Jeremy Hunt explained that under the new terms, no doctor working contracted hours would experience a pay cut. Night shifts and long shifts will be lessened while Saturday will be considered as a normal working day.

Junior doctors argued that the changes will affect patient safety since it encourages unsafe shift patterns. Additionally, they fear those who work the longest will be less compensated.