TODAY junior doctors meet at their conference in central London to decide the next step in their battle against Tory health secretary Hunt’s imposed contract, which doctors rightly say is unfair, unsafe and illegal.
On the eve of the conference, junior doctors spoke to News Line about this crucial point in the struggle. Dr Aislinn Macklin-Doherty said: ‘There has been a big shift in the narrative over the last week. The health select committee has analysed the seven-day NHS service pledged, and found it to be totally uncosted and we know that the NHS is in an unprecedented funding crisis.
‘So the terms of the debate have to change. This is not just about Saturday pay, this is about demanding that we have a fully resourced and fully staffed NHS. Nothing less is acceptable. And we should do whatever it takes until that is achieved, so that the NHS is safe for the public. We need to make links with other unions and I would support a motion for the BMA to call out and link up with other unions nationally.
‘The BMA must fully back the PCS/FBU motion for the TUC to call a national day of action for the NHS, in fact the BMA should lead that. The whole nature of the negotiations is very reminiscent of an oppressive dictatorship and not a democratic discussion. We have had a gun to our head throughout negotiations. So we have been forced into this level of unprecedented action to stand up for equal and excellent health care for all.’
Dr Roshana Mehdian said, ‘Firstly, I think it is really important that the BMA membership have their say. I hope that there will be a positive aspect coming out from the conference about how united and vocal the junior doctors have been in trying to ensure that the NHS remains safe and that we are going forward to maintain that.
‘Everyone in the NHS should be involved in trying to find a solution.
‘The whole dispute has highlighted how important it is that all NHS staff feel free to talk about problems they see on the front line. Imposition is disastrous. This is not the way to engage a workforce, particularly one that is extremely understaffed and overworked and under extreme pressure. Imposing a contract will so nothing but undervalue them and demoralise them.
‘That is no way to engage a workforce during difficult times. Both the new contract and treating your workforce like that is unsafe. What I would really like to see is for Hunt to speak to the experts who understand why the contract is unsafe. We have been trying to explain to him why these changes are dangerous.
‘Now the Royal Colleges and the researchers are in agreement that this contract is not well thought through and what Hunt needs to do is take a step back and work with junior doctors rather than against them.’
BMA member and medical student Joseph Harris said: ‘Students are encouraged that a conclusion is perhaps in reach, but we believe it is imperative not to stand down on clauses relating to fair pay and working hours as well as discrimination against women.
‘I am cautious in my optimism due to the way Jeremy Hunt has behaved throughout the dispute and the feeling of mistrust with the competencies of a Tory-led DoH is widespread. Doctors are not averse to the principle of a seven day NHS, but the threat of imposition and the manner in which it has been pursued has galvanised doctors and students alike.
‘There is a growing faction prepared to fight for this cause across the public sector but these negotiations can represent a step in the right direction should the Government stop ignoring the damaging repercussions of many of the clauses.’
Meanwhile, almost 90% of GPs believe that Jeremy Hunt should step down as health secretary, a Pulse survey reveals. The poll of 817 GPs found that 87% of the profession believed that Hunt should resign or be removed from his post, while more than 95% said they did not have confidence in his ability to manage the health service.
Just 19 GPs (2.5%) said they did have confidence in the way Hunt was managing the health service, while 48 (6%) said he should not be removed from his post. GPs responding to the survey said Hunt, who became the longest-serving health secretary since the establishment of the NHS this week, was described by respondents as ‘rigid’, ‘arrogant’ and ‘statistically illiterate’.
It comes as Hunt has been heavily criticised for his imposition of a contract on junior doctors and his plans for a seven-day NHS, becoming the first health minister to preside over an all-out strike by the profession. The Local Medical Committees Conference next week in London is set to debate a motion of no confidence in the health secretary, calling for his ‘immediate resignation’.
• On Friday afternoon Brendan Barber, the ACAS chair, announced that there had been no agreement in the talks between the BMA and the government and that the talks would continue until next Wednesday.
The government had agreed not to impose the contract until the talks were over, while the BMA had agreed according to Barber that it would call no action until the talks had concluded – effectively seeking to gag the junior doctors’ conference today.
Many junior doctors will be shocked at this development and will be determined not to be gagged by any such agreement and to decide at the conference on new strike actions against this contract and against the continuing determination of the government to impose it.
