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Junior doctors set to strike after Government talks break down

BMA council chair Dr Mark Porter said the discussions had failed to address junior doctors’ concerns about working hours and recognition for those working unsocial hours.

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It comes after the BMA suspended three strikes, all due to take place in December, to re-enter talks with the Government over its controversial plans to impose a new contract on juniors by August 2016.

Johann Malawana, chairman of the BMA junior doctors’ committee, sent a message to members on Facebook this weekend, preparing them for the Government’s announcement.

The fight between junior doctors in England and the government continues.

Although the strikes were averted on November 30, the last minute call saw many minor operations and outpatient clinics delayed.

“We have now asked Acas to reconvene talks in the hope the BMA will return to sensible negotiations”.

If junior doctors’ demands were not met, then the severity of strikes would also escalate, the source said.

In November, in a ballot of junior doctors, 98% voted for industrial action.

Under the Government’s offer, junior doctors would receive time and a half for any hours worked Monday to Sunday between 10pm and 7am, and time and a third for any hours worked between 7pm and 10pm on Saturdays and 7am and 10pm on Sundays.

Doctors from across the area are taking action over pay and working conditions.

A last-ditch offer will be made to junior doctors on Monday as talks aimed at finding a settlement in the protracted dispute reach a critical point.

“Nobody wants to see industrial action, not least junior doctors. There is only one person patients should blame for today’s news and that’s Jeremy Hunt”.

‘Talks are always better than strikes and we are prepared to talk about anything within the pay envelope as long as we improve patient safety by moving towards a seven-day NHS.

“The truth is that the whole system is under intolerable pressure”.

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He added: ‘Should we not be able to reach an acceptable outcome by 4pm on January 4, the BMA will need to commence serving notice as per its mandate, to the NHS, for industrial action the following week’. He has been in regular contact with Hunt and his closest aides, and attended a number of meetings at which Hunt and NHS Employers have decided how to respond to junior doctors’ demands.

Junior doctors' strike 'certain to go ahead' as talks over pay and working hours collapse 10 days before deadline