BMA must engage in talks on junior doctors’ contracts

http://www.theguardian.com/society/2015/aug/19/bma-must-engage-in-talks-on-junior-doctors-contracts

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In response to your letter (Protecting patients and keeping Britain healthy, 19 August), NHS organisations know that junior doctors remain one of the hardest working and most critical parts of our NHS. But the reality is that the contract they are employed under today was designed to drive down the unacceptably long hours worked by previous generations of doctors. It means that a large proportion of junior doctors’ earnings remain variable, leading to unpredictable pay and an unwieldy bureaucracy for them and their employer. The contract needs to change.

The health secretary and NHS Employers have been clear that the overall pay bill will not be cut, nor will junior doctors be required to work more hours. However, a new contract is needed that properly rewards and recognises the vital contribution junior doctors make. Proposals include an increase in their basic pay and new protections against working unsafe long hours. We were disappointed that the BMA junior doctors committee could not again bring themselves to talk to us as our default setting is to seek agreement through discussion. Refusing to enter into talks doesn’t benefit junior doctors or their patients and we ask junior doctors to discuss with us the independent Doctors and Dentists Review Body report and the way forward.Danny MortimerNHS Employers

• Clinical negligence claims are brought by people who have been injured through no fault of their own as a result of negligent NHS care (NHS pays out £1.1bn – and a third of that goes to lawyers, 19 August). Last year the NHS spent almost half a billion pounds on obstetric claims – mainly paid to the families of brain-damaged children to cover the support and adaptations they need to help them live as normal a life as possible. Although compensation cannot fully recompense the damage caused, harmed patients need the support of a specialist solicitor to help them bring a claim to pay for vital services such as ongoing care. These cases are often complex and require expert legal knowledge to properly support patients during extremely difficult times. The proposed introduction of fixed fees may limit the market and reduce the availability of this essential advice in future.Jonathan SmithersPresident, Law Society