JUNIOR doctors in England have confirmed three further strike dates.
In a BMA ballot of junior doctors last November, 98 per cent of those who voted supported taking industrial action, demonstrating the strength of opposition amongst the profession to government plans. The dates of the strikes are:
• 48-hour emergency care only from 8am, Wednesday 9th March to 8am, Friday 11 March
• 48-hour emergency care only from 8am, Wednesday 6th April to 8am, Friday 8th April
• 48-hour emergency care only from 8am, Tuesday 26 April to 8am, Thursday 28 April.
Commenting, Dr Johann Malawana, BMA junior doctor committee chair, said: ‘In recent weeks I have heard from thousands of junior doctors across the country, and the resounding message is that they cannot and will not accept what the government is trying to do.
‘It now appears that in trying to push through these changes the government failed to give proper consideration to the impact this contract could have on junior doctors. This is yet another example of the incompetence which the government has demonstrated throughout its handling of this dispute.
‘Imposing this contract will seriously undermine the ability of the NHS to recruit and retain junior doctors in areas of medicine with the most unsocial hours, where there are already staffing shortages.
‘This will have a significant impact on areas such as emergency medicine, maternity care and paediatrics, to name but a few. We have already seen NHS chief executives refusing to support an imposition, and patient representatives have said they are appalled by this move. Added to this, the government’s former adviser on patient safety, Don Berwick, has said it should apologise to junior doctors over the contract dispute.
‘The government must listen to the chorus of concern coming from all quarters and reconsider this disastrous approach. The fact is, junior doctors already work around the clock, seven days a week and they do so under their existing contract. If the government wants more seven-day services then, quite simply, it needs more doctors, nurses and support staff, and the extra investment necessary to deliver them.’
• The BMA added yesterday: ‘We are set to launch a judicial review following the embarrassing revelation that the government appears to have failed to undertake an Equality Impact Assessment (EIA) prior to its decision to impose a new contract on junior doctors in England.’
