DOCTORS will not sign up to the Tory government’s proposals for a seven-day-a-week, 24-hours-a-day NHS service because the plans are ‘unfunded, undefined’, ‘wholly unrealistic’ and ‘unsafe’.
In a submission by the BMA to the Doctors’ and Dentists’ Remuneration Board (DDRB) the BMA said that any proposed changes to doctors’ contracts must be ‘best for patients, fair for doctors and sustainable for the NHS’.
The BMA said that the government’s proposed changes to doctors’ contracts were ‘stalled’ due to ‘concerns raised by the BMA over a lack of safeguards for patient safety and doctors’ welfare’.
In its submission, the BMA said that offering a full range of NHS services at weekends is ‘neither desirable nor feasible’.
The BMA added that, unless urgent and emergency care are prioritised, and ‘adequate safeguards around working hours and patient care’ were addressed, doctors would not sign up to the new contract.
The BMA said that during negotiations the government repeatedly failed to provide ‘detailed evidence and modelling on the changes it wants to introduce …
‘… making it impossible for doctors to sign up to proposed changes without understanding the impact on patient care and doctors’ working lives.’
Adding: ‘Crucially, changes to services must be clinically rather than politically driven.
‘They must reflect patient need which is why the BMA wants the government to work with doctors to prioritise investment in urgent and emergency care to ensure it is of the same high standard, seven days a week.’
Commenting, Dr Mark Porter, BMA council chair, said: ‘Doctors already work around the clock, 24/7, so the existing contract is not a roadblock to seven-day services.
‘We hope that, in its submission, the government has provided the detail, evidence and modelling on the changes they want to introduce, which it failed to produce throughout negotiations.
‘This includes detail on what additional services they want to make available, how much they will cost to deliver, and guarantees on what support services need to be in place to provide them safely.
‘Without this detail, we are being asked to sign up in the dark to changes without knowing how patient care and doctors’ working lives will be affected – something the BMA cannot do.’