‘THE strike is going extremely well. Pickets have been well-attended and junior doctors remain united in their struggle against contract imposition.’
Speaking on the second day of the junior doctors’ 48-hour strike, BMA Junior Doctors Committee deputy chair Dr David Rouse continued:
‘The next strike on April 6 and 7 is going ahead. The anger remains high. Doctors all think that imposing a contract is not the right thing to do. Around the country they are in agreement that the only way to produce a safe and fair contract is for the government to remove the threat of imposition and come back to the negotiating table.
‘No junior doctor is on the new imposed contract. That would happen in August, so there is time yet for the government to come back to the table and negotiate in good faith.Ultimately, the imposed contract would lead to the spread of resources more thinly across seven days which will be bad for patients and bad for doctors.
‘It would lead to burnout for doctors and affect patients. This is about the NHS. If the contract goes ahead, it will start with doctors and go on to nurses and other health professionals. We know there is a huge shortage of doctors and nurses in the UK. How are they going to spread an already stretched workforce even further? – It would affect staff and patients.
‘Already doctors are planning to leave the NHS, not to leave medicine, but to choose to be doctors elsewhere. The government has to do something to stop the flow. We have lots of support from other trade unions and we are grateful for their letters. The trade unions need to follow this closely and make decisions that are of benefit to their members’ interests.’
In a statement issued yesterday Junior Doctors Committee chair Dr Johann Malawana said: ‘It is time for the Secretary of State to stop political posturing and return to talks that lead to a contract that is fair for junior doctors and good for the NHS.’
At Ealing Hospital the striking doctors stood with supporters of the West London Council of Action’s 7am-9am daily picket of the hospital to stop its closure. GMB member Nick Ross said: ‘I work in a warehouse over the road and I support the junior doctors and the fight to save Ealing Hospital.
‘It should be seen as a community resource, not something to be cut on a whim. Once Hunt started talking about the imposition of a contract it became an issue not just about the junior doctors but public sector workers per se.
‘I think every member of a trade union should consider taking strike action in support of the doctors. It has become about public sector workers’ rights to be in a trade union and negotiate at all. Likewise, the defence of Ealing Hospital is a fight for all unions locally.’
Striking BMA member Dylan Roi said: ‘The picket numbers are very strong. We are determined and believe we will win. The public supports us and that support will become increasingly meaningful as people realise that this is a fight for the future of the NHS.
‘The junior doctor dispute is just the tip of the iceberg. All public sector workers will face the same treatment. The defence of Ealing Hospital is very important too and the staff are in full support of the fight to stop the closure. The trade unions have to show their hand.’
Unison member and Acton resident Sara Lepper said: ‘Of course I support the junior doctors, their fight is our fight and of course Ealing Hospital must stay. There are a whole range of issues involved, including child protection. The unions have to fight, but we want leaders in our unions who are fully behind their members, the workers – not leaders who are part of management.’
BMA member Raheem Ladak said: ‘I come from a working class background and I fully believe in the NHS. Ultimately, this is another case of public sector workers being bullied by the government, in this case a bunch of very wealthy people who have been born into privilege and have never had to work for a living.
‘We would value any contribution other trade unions give in supporting us. I definitely support the Royal Mail workers, the TfL workers and the teachers, just to name a few sections that are having the same struggle.’
At West Middlesex Hospital on the busy Twickenham Road, there was a cacophony of noise as almost every passing vehicle hooted wildly in support of the doctors’ picket. BMA member Robyn House said: ‘The public really supports what we are doing and support the NHS. Support from other trade unions would be great.’
BMA member Mirae Park said: ‘The government is trying to privatise the NHS.
‘We all keep the NHS going on our goodwill, not just the doctors but all the staff, no-one leaves at 5 o’clock on the dot, we all stay after hours to finish off. The NHS is not a drain on resources, it’s the best thing we have. It’s a free health service; people forget what an amazing service it is.’
At Whipps Cross Hospital in Walthamstow, east London, the junior doctors had set up a gazebo and were in high spirits, as almost every motorist that passed tooted their horn in support. BMA member and junior doctor at Whipps Cross, Dr Mohammed Latif, said, ‘The strike is going well, this is the second day and we are showing our resolve.
‘We are not going to back down.
‘We are not going to give up on our NHS. Regardless of the objectives of this current government. We have to restore the NHS which is both safe and excellent for patients. Everyone is being affected by government policies which are failing general society. This is exhibited by plummeting morale and substandard care.
‘People are understaffed, overworked and demoralised across the whole public sector.
‘On the march this evening we are expecting other unions to come, not just the BMA but Unison, RCN and others. This has to be the start of a much bigger show of unity.
‘If joint strike action is what it takes to fix this current crisis, then that is what we must do.’
Pickets were out in force at St Thomas’ Hospital, Westminster Bridge. People were visiting the picket and bringing food for the strikers. Junior doctor Michael Burns told News Line: ‘Yesterday was as good as could be. We’re getting fantastic support from the public. The government need to get round the table without pre-conditions or ulterior motives.
‘They don’t seem to be willing to do that at the moment. Our strike was backed by a 98% vote on a 78% turn out, that would pass even the anti-trade union bill. We almost had a contract and the government withdrew and want to impose this new one on us, which won’t work.’
Visitors and staff queued up to sign a strikers’ petition and take stickers at the Royal Free Hospital picket line, northwest London. BMA rep Tom Urwin told News Line: ‘People remain determined. We’re getting an overwhelmingly positive response from the public.
‘There was a fantastic turnout at the Department of Health yesterday. There was an appearance by the NHS Singers who braved the rain to let the government know what they think about the contract and how they feel about the NHS.
‘There is widespread support from other grassroots groups in the hospital which fills us with confidence and determination. The relationship between the negotiators and Jeremy Hunt has broken down. We will have a better chance if he goes but I would be concerned that whoever replaces him has the same ideology.’
At Northwick Park Hospital in Harrow, junior doctor Andy Rogers, Anaesthetic Trainee, said on the picket line: ‘I think the contract is incredibly unfair to doctors and it reflects the complete disregard that the government has for workers in the NHS in general. People will be put off working in the NHS. It is a sad day. The NHS is an important part of the fabric of British society. We will continue to fight until we win.’
David Antcliffe, junior doctor, said: ‘If we accept Saturday as a normal weekday, it is not contracted as out-of-hours. Imposing the contracts will affect every other health care worker in the NHS, including nurses, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, speech therapists, in effect, everyone else.
‘This type of contract will have a massive detrimental effect on their salaries, and the ability of staff to provide a whole week’s worth of care. We need other workers to come out with us to successfully fight this imposition.’
Junior doctor Jonathan said: ‘We are fighting for the NHS, that is the subtext of the whole thing. The contract is very concerning because it is unsafe for patients.’
Junior doctor at Maudsley Mental Health Hospital, Peter Nussbaum, said: ‘With hindsight, I think it is right to get the other unions out with us. It feels like it is just a small group of professionals against the state and the power that they have over the media, so it would be helpful to have the whole of the National Health Service striking together.
‘But that takes a whole other level of organisation. I agree there has to be a political development. The more you become involved in these things, the more you immerse yourself in it, You take notice of the other things that are happening in London and in the UK.
‘In terms of the issues with this current government, all the changes that you see in London like social housing, that are very negative in my opinion, cuts in central funding, money being taken away from the North of England, all this stuff, it’s little pockets of people being targeted, and if this can come together then we can effect change.’
A junior doctor who has just been appointed as a consultant said: ‘I did a fellowship in Australia and I was back there last week and everyone, all the consultants there, were absolutely gobsmacked at what is happening here because they really respect the training we have here in the UK and a free national health service.’
Another junior doctor on the picket line outside the Maudsley, Nikita, said: ‘I definitely agree that other unions should come out with us, because the NHS is everyone’s, so we should all be fighting for the NHS. We all need to defend it. All of our families, our friends use it, and we want it to be there for them to use.’
At Hammersmith Hospital, junior doctors on the picket line were doing a roaring trade with their stickers with passing schoolchildren queuing up to get one. Striking junior doctor Antonio de Marvao told News Line, ‘The junior doctors are the first in the NHS to be attacked by this government. The other unions need to support us because we are on the front line. MPs are revolting over attacks on migrants and Sunday opening hours, they should be revolting over the NHS Bill.’
Another junior doctor on the picket, Harpreet Sawhney said, ‘We are not having an imposed contract, we want one that is by negotiation.’
A lively picket at St Mary’s Hospital in Paddington attracted a lot of support from passers-by. One of the pickets, Dr Emma Morton, told News Line: ‘The government wants to impose the contract but most of the NHS trust chiefs are opposed to it and they are our employers. As there are not enough junior doctors to fill all the vacancies, junior doctors will not apply for jobs in Trusts that push the new contract. All the unions should talk to each other to organise some joint action.’
