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| Junior doctors' strike: BMA tells Jeremy Hunt walk-outs will be scrapped if contract 'imposition' is halted | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Jeremy Hunt has been told next week’s all-out junior doctor strike will be called off if he halts the imposition of the controversial new contract. | Jeremy Hunt has been told next week’s all-out junior doctor strike will be called off if he halts the imposition of the controversial new contract. |
| In a letter to the Health Secretary, the British Medical Association (BMA) said no junior doctors wanted to take further industrial action, but that medics would not accept a contract being forced on them. | In a letter to the Health Secretary, the British Medical Association (BMA) said no junior doctors wanted to take further industrial action, but that medics would not accept a contract being forced on them. |
| They appeal urges the Government to “get back around the table” and offer direct talks between the BMA’s junior doctor committee chair Dr Johann Malawana and Mr Hunt “at any time between now and the start of next week’s industrial action”. | They appeal urges the Government to “get back around the table” and offer direct talks between the BMA’s junior doctor committee chair Dr Johann Malawana and Mr Hunt “at any time between now and the start of next week’s industrial action”. |
| Next week’s strike will be the first to see junior doctors walk out from all types of care, including A&E departments and other emergency services. The escalation has prompted stark warnings over patient safety from senior doctors including the NHS medical director Professor Sir Bruce Keogh, the chief medical officer Dame Sally Davies. | Next week’s strike will be the first to see junior doctors walk out from all types of care, including A&E departments and other emergency services. The escalation has prompted stark warnings over patient safety from senior doctors including the NHS medical director Professor Sir Bruce Keogh, the chief medical officer Dame Sally Davies. |
| Dr Malawana himself sought unsuccessfully to convince union colleagues before the announcement was made that paediatric emergency services should be excluded from the strike, according to internal emails seen by the Health Service Journal last week. | Dr Malawana himself sought unsuccessfully to convince union colleagues before the announcement was made that paediatric emergency services should be excluded from the strike, according to internal emails seen by the Health Service Journal last week. |
| In his letter to Mr Hunt, Dr Malawana writes: “With a week to go to the start of the first full walkout of doctors in this country, I am writing to make a clear offer in a bid to avert industrial action. | In his letter to Mr Hunt, Dr Malawana writes: “With a week to go to the start of the first full walkout of doctors in this country, I am writing to make a clear offer in a bid to avert industrial action. |
| "Simply put, if the Government will lift the imposition, junior doctors will call off next week’s strike action on 26 and 27 April. | "Simply put, if the Government will lift the imposition, junior doctors will call off next week’s strike action on 26 and 27 April. |
| “The imposition of this contract is tremendously damaging to the morale of junior doctors and medical students and has resulted in a complete breakdown of trust between doctors and the Government. It is this decision which has led to the current, lamentable situation, the resolution to which is now squarely in your hands. | “The imposition of this contract is tremendously damaging to the morale of junior doctors and medical students and has resulted in a complete breakdown of trust between doctors and the Government. It is this decision which has led to the current, lamentable situation, the resolution to which is now squarely in your hands. |
| “As you know, no junior doctor wants to have to take industrial action, but they have been left without further recourse. Junior doctors who I meet up and down the country are saying they will not accept a contract being forced on them, a contract which the Government’s own equality impact assessment acknowledges to be discriminatory to women." | “As you know, no junior doctor wants to have to take industrial action, but they have been left without further recourse. Junior doctors who I meet up and down the country are saying they will not accept a contract being forced on them, a contract which the Government’s own equality impact assessment acknowledges to be discriminatory to women." |
| The decision to impose the contract came in February, after Mr Hunt was advised by his chief negotiator, NHS hospital chief executive Sir David Dalton, that there was “no realistic prospect of a negotiated outcome”. | The decision to impose the contract came in February, after Mr Hunt was advised by his chief negotiator, NHS hospital chief executive Sir David Dalton, that there was “no realistic prospect of a negotiated outcome”. |
| Imposition means NHS trusts will be forced to offer the new terms to junior doctors beginning new contracts from August. NHS foundation trusts, which have more autonomy, can in theory set their own terms and conditions but the Department of Health has said it expects the contract to be rolled out nationally. | Imposition means NHS trusts will be forced to offer the new terms to junior doctors beginning new contracts from August. NHS foundation trusts, which have more autonomy, can in theory set their own terms and conditions but the Department of Health has said it expects the contract to be rolled out nationally. |
| The contract will require junior doctors to work more weekends for less pay on Saturdays. Basic pay will increase by 13.5 per cent to compensate. However, there is no additional funding being offered, so junior doctors fear the current workforce will be spread too thinly and rotas will be understaffed more often during the week, endangering patients. | The contract will require junior doctors to work more weekends for less pay on Saturdays. Basic pay will increase by 13.5 per cent to compensate. However, there is no additional funding being offered, so junior doctors fear the current workforce will be spread too thinly and rotas will be understaffed more often during the week, endangering patients. |
| There are also concerns over plans to drop automatic annual pay increases, which the Government’s own impact assessment said would disproportionately impact on women doctors who take time off for maternity leave. | There are also concerns over plans to drop automatic annual pay increases, which the Government’s own impact assessment said would disproportionately impact on women doctors who take time off for maternity leave. |
| Mr Hunt and the Department of Health have yet to respond to the BMA’s letter. | Mr Hunt and the Department of Health have yet to respond to the BMA’s letter. |