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10 Feb 2016

Second junior doctors’ strike goes ahead after talks fail

Thousands of junior doctors take part in a second one-day strike over plans to bring in a new contract that will oblige them to work more weekends. Emergency care is still being provided.

NHS England has estimated that over 1,100 in-patient procedures and over 1,700 day procedures have been cancelled.

Last-minute talks failed to avert the strike.

The government had called in the chief executive of Salford Royal NHS Foundation, Sir David Dalton, to try to broker a deal between the British Medical Association (BMA), who are negotiating for the junior doctors, and the NHS Employers, but talks ended on Tuesday without a resolution.

The major sticking point is whether Saturday should in future be considered a normal working day for doctors.

Currently junior doctors get paid extra for working on Saturdays. Under the proposed new contract overtime pay would only be paid after 7pm on Saturdays. During negotiations, the government backtrack slightly, offering to change that to 5pm.

The BMA says it has offered a re-worked package that would retain overtime pay for Saturday working at no extra cost by reducing the government’s proposed 11 per cent rise in basic pay.

Dr Johann Malawana, the BMA’s junior doctors’ committee chairman, tweeted on Wednesday morning: “We presented fully costed & working solution that was rejected due to pride & politics.”

A Department of Health spokesperson called the strike “completely unnecessary”, adding in a statement: “We have now agreed the vast majority of the contract detail with the BMA but it’s a great shame they have broken the agreement we made at ACAS to discuss the outstanding issue of Saturday working and pay for unsocial hours.”

Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt has threatened to impose the new contract if negotiations fail.

On Wednesday he received the backing of Chris Hopson, the chief executive of NHS Providers, who told the BBC: “We cannot carry on like this. We need to bring this to a conclusion. If the BMA won’t accept a fair and reasonable offer then, yes, it is legitimate and sensible for the Secretary of State to consider imposition.”

Doctors have warned that bringing in the new contract could lead to many of them leaving to work abroad.

A one-day strike in January led to the cancellation of thousands of other appointments as well many cancelled operations.

The author J K Rowling, who is married to a doctor, tweeted a picture in support of the junior doctors’ protest.

Advice for patients

The Department of Health advised patients with a serious of life threatening condition to call 999 or go to Accident and Emergency as usual. Those needing medical help for non-serious situations were told to contact their GPs or pharmacists.

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