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Junior doctors and Jeremy Hunt agree deal to end contract dispute Junior doctors and Jeremy Hunt agree deal to end contract dispute
(about 1 hour later)
Junior doctors’ leaders and Jeremy Hunt have unveiled a deal they hope will finally end their long-running dispute which has sparked eight days of strike action across the NHS. Junior doctors’ leaders and Jeremy Hunt have unveiled a deal they hope will end their long-running dispute which has sparked eight days of strike action across the NHS.
The health secretary and the British Medical Association both welcomed a compromise settlement, which they thrashed out over the last 10 days in talks overseen by the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (Acas).The health secretary and the British Medical Association both welcomed a compromise settlement, which they thrashed out over the last 10 days in talks overseen by the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (Acas).
Related: Junior doctors and government extend contract talksRelated: Junior doctors and government extend contract talks
They agreed an amended version of the new contract for England’s 55,000 junior doctors, the original version of which provoked the bitterest clash between the government and medical profession since the coalition’s controversial NHS shake-up of 2010-11. They agreed an amended version of the new contract for England’s 55,000 junior doctors, the original version of which provoked the bitterest clash between the government and medical profession since the coalition’s controversial NHS shakeup of 2010-11.
Acas said that the deal had “now been agreed by all parties as resolving the current dispute subject to securing the support of BMA junior doctor members in a referendum”. Acas said the deal had “now been agreed by all parties as resolving the current dispute subject to securing the support of BMA junior doctor members in a referendum”.
“Following intense but constructive talks, we are pleased to have reached agreement,” Dr Johann Malawana, chair of the BMA’s junior doctors committee, said. Dr Johann Malawana, the chair of the BMA’s junior doctors committee, said: “Following intense but constructive talks, we are pleased to have reached agreement.
“Junior doctors have always wanted to agree a safe and fair contract, one that recognises and values the contribution junior doctors make to the NHS, addresses the recruitment and retention crisis in parts of the NHS and provides the basis for delivering a world-class health service.“Junior doctors have always wanted to agree a safe and fair contract, one that recognises and values the contribution junior doctors make to the NHS, addresses the recruitment and retention crisis in parts of the NHS and provides the basis for delivering a world-class health service.
“I believe that what has been agreed today delivers on these principles, is a good deal for junior doctors and will ensure that they can continue to deliver high-quality care for patients. “I believe that what has been agreed today delivers on these principles, is a good deal for junior doctors and will ensure that they can continue to deliver high-quality care for patients. This represents the best and final way of resolving the dispute and this is what I will be saying to junior doctors in the weeks leading up to the referendum on the new contract.”
“This represents the best and final way of resolving the dispute and this is what I will be saying to junior doctors in the weeks leading up to the referendum on the new contract.” Hunt said: “We welcome this significant agreement which delivers important changes to the junior doctors’ contract necessary to deliver a safer seven-day NHS.
Hunt welcomed the deal as helping to usher in a seven-day NHS. “We welcome this significant agreement which delivers important changes to the junior doctors’ contract necessary to deliver a safer seven-day NHS”, he said. “The talks have been constructive and positive and highlighted many areas outside the contract where further work is necessary to value the vital role of junior doctors and improve the training and support they are given. This deal represents a definitive step forward for patients, for doctors and for the NHS as a whole.”
“The talks have been constructive and positive and highlighted many areas outside the contract where further work is necessary to value the vital role of junior doctors and improve the training and support they are given. This deal represents a definitive step forward for patients, for doctors, and for the NHS as a whole.” The deal will have to overcome a significant potential obstacle – endorsement or rejection in a ballot of the 45,000 junior doctors who belong to the BMA – before it can become the basis of a permanent settlement.
The deal will now have to overcome a significant potential obstacle – endorsement or rejection in a ballot of the 45,000 junior doctors who belong to the BMA – before it can become the basis of a permanent settlement. Both Hunt and the BMA have given ground during the Acas meetings in an effort to resolve the outstanding issues which, despite considerable progress, talks in December and January proved unable to settle. “It’s been give and take on both sides,” said a source close to the negotiations.
Both Hunt and the BMA have given ground during the Acas meetings in a bid to finally resolve the outstanding issues which, despite considerable progress, talks in December and January proved unable to settle. “It’s been give and take on both sides,” said a source close to the negotiations.
The dispute has involved a wide range of issues involving the terms and conditions under which junior doctors work and the state of the NHS. Two key issues proved particularly troublesome.The dispute has involved a wide range of issues involving the terms and conditions under which junior doctors work and the state of the NHS. Two key issues proved particularly troublesome.
First, Hunt sought to greatly extend the number of hours that count as part of a junior doctor’s normal working week to include Saturdays and weekday evenings from 7pm until 10pm as a key element of introducing a fuller seven-day NHS.First, Hunt sought to greatly extend the number of hours that count as part of a junior doctor’s normal working week to include Saturdays and weekday evenings from 7pm until 10pm as a key element of introducing a fuller seven-day NHS.
Second, despite Hunt’s promise to reduce the maximum number of hours they could work in a week, junior doctors were worried about how they would stop hospitals from forcing them to work excessively long hours, leaving them tired and so a potential risk to patients’ safety.Second, despite Hunt’s promise to reduce the maximum number of hours they could work in a week, junior doctors were worried about how they would stop hospitals from forcing them to work excessively long hours, leaving them tired and so a potential risk to patients’ safety.
The breakthrough raises the prospect that, if grassroots junior doctors do endorse the deal, the new contract will be introduced through agreement rather than by Hunt acting on his threat to impose it – which he called his “nuclear option”. The breakthrough raises the prospect that, if junior doctors do endorse the deal, the new contract will be introduced through agreement rather than by Hunt acting on his threat to impose it – which he called his “nuclear option”.
The amicable, constructive tone of the statements by Hunt and the BMA’s Johann Malawana on Wednesday contrasted sharply with the anger and belligerent language that has characterised many of their pronouncements since the dispute began last September. The amicable, constructive tone of the statements by Hunt and Malawana on Wednesday contrasted sharply with the anger and belligerent language that has characterised many of their pronouncements since the dispute began last September.
The government’s handling of the dispute is still subject to two ongoing legal challenges, due to be heard together at the high court in London next month. The government’s handling of the dispute is still subject to two legal challenges, due to be heard together at the high court in London next month.
One, instigated by the BMA, involves a judicial review of the contract’s discriminatory impact on female doctors and the Department of Health’s failure to conduct an equality impact assessment before agreeing what was then the final version of the contract.One, instigated by the BMA, involves a judicial review of the contract’s discriminatory impact on female doctors and the Department of Health’s failure to conduct an equality impact assessment before agreeing what was then the final version of the contract.
The other, undertaken by five junior doctors known as Justice For Health, is arguing that Hunt has no legal power to compel hospitals in the NHS to enforce the contract.The other, undertaken by five junior doctors known as Justice For Health, is arguing that Hunt has no legal power to compel hospitals in the NHS to enforce the contract.