Speaking yesterday, Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt said: “We have some disagreements with the BMA over pay”.
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Some 50,000 junior doctors – who represent a third of the medical workforce – are on strike for 24 hours amid government plans to change pay and work schedules.
England faced a one-day strike on Tuesday by the nation’s “junior doctors” – medical trainees akin to hospital residents in the USA – over a new contract affecting their hours and working conditions.
There will be further disruption with more industrial action already planned if negotiations are unsuccessful.
Mr Hunt said almost 40% (39%) of junior doctors chose to work, however, the figure included the medics who had agreed to work to maintain emergency care levels and not been asked by the BMA to take action.
“We feel like the NHS is under threat with these new proposals, along with patient safety”.
The National Health Service (NHS) postponed 4,000 routine treatments such as knee and hip operations.
She added: “Patient care is at the centre of what we do but this strike has been known about”.
NHS staff who are members of UNISON said they will be using their breaks and lunchtimes to join their junior doctor colleagues on picket lines.
He said: “We just need everybody to get back around the table and resolve this”.
A cohort of juniors staged a Meet the Doctors event in Bedford Square to engage with the public about the dispute. If this contract goes forward it will affect me greatly.
As a result, the BMA has said doctors would be paid less for working unsocial hours than they are under the current contract, with those working in specialties with a high proportion of weekend and evening working, such as emergency medicine, affected disproportionately.
Talks between the BMA and NHS bosses are continuing, with issues including weekend pay and the need for appropriate safeguards in place to stop doctors over-working.
We haven’t come here asking for a pay rise.
“We made sure everybody knew this was coming so contingency plans were put in place. The Government needs to take responsibility for providing the extra resources and allowing us to do our job”.
Watford Elected Mayor Dorothy Thornhill said the situation needed to be sorted out.
But Nadia Masood, who has been a junior doctor for 11 years, retorted: “I, and all the doctors that are striking, genuinely believe that this contract is more unsafe than this strike could ever have the potential to be”.
“It shouldn’t have been able to get this far, I hope it is sorted soon”.
Junior doctors returned to work after a 24-hour walkout which led to the cancellation of around 4,000 operations and thousands of cancelled appointments.
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But a full walkout would see them withdraw all labour, so that the vast majority of hospital consultants would be switched to cope with the most urgent cases.
