Britain’s Junior Doctors StrikeJunior doctors are striking because of proposed changes to their contracts which will see them overworked. This could seriously compromise their ability to look after patients effectively..
Posted by UNILAD on Wednesday, 10 February 2016
After years of strained negotiations Jeremy Hunt has decided to impose his seven day NHS contract on junior doctors against their will.
Ministers decided to impose the new contract after the British Medical Association rejected the ‘best and final’ offer to settle the dispute, he told MP’s today.
It’s no surprise that he received a massive backlash – he ironically announced at the same time that he would review how to improve NHS doctors’ morale, which did not go down well.
BMA reps are now considering ‘all options’, with the possibility of further strikes before their contracts have to be signed in August.
This comes after Andrew Marr presented Hunt with a number of reports from junior doctors last weekend, which were highly critical of him and his plans, causing him to visibly squirm in his seat.
The new contract was announced just four hours after doctor’s second 24-hour walkout over working hours and pay. Shadow Health Secretary Heidi Alexander said this move will bring ‘chaos’.
Alexander also mentioned the Health Secretary’s lack of seven-day spirit when it comes to his own job. She said: “So much for a seven-day health service. A five-day-a-week Health Secretary would be nice.”
Hunt defended his new contract, claiming Labour’s arrangements – which were drawn up in 1999 – were not fit for purpose.
The list of compromises on the contract include raising the basic pay from an 11 per cent rise to a 13.5 per cent rise. Maximum working hours will be reduced and junior doctors will get a 30 per cent pay premium when they work more than one in four Saturdays.
However, ‘plain time’ without any out-of-hours bonus pay will still remain from 7am to 5pm on Saturdays. Currently working Saturdays is seen as ‘anti social’, and the BMA wants it to stay that way.
Many took to Twitter to vent their fury at the government’s decision.
Some mocked his suggestion that morale needed looking at among NHS doctors.
And a couple really aren’t a fan of Mr Hunt.
90 per cent of doctors said they were going to resign if the contract went through. If so, lets hope Jeremy Hunt has a back up plan…
