The British government said on Thursday it would force through pay and working condition reforms for English doctors without the agreement of their trade union in a push to end a dispute that has resulted in strikes.
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Health secretary Jeremy Hunt today said that 43 per cent of junior doctors turned up to work – slightly more than during the first 24 hour strike last month.
He said the contracts are created to improve hospital care at weekends, claiming standards are “too low” at the weekend, with more patients dying on Saturdays and Sundays than during the week.
Junior doctors joined picket lines outside Gloucestershire Royal Hospital and Cheltenham General Hospital yesterday to fight the plans.
But the backlash was swift, with the BMA declaring it “cannot and will not accept” a contract it says is bad for patients and the NHS and warned it would “consider all options open to us” – a hint of a rolling programme of strikes.
Holding placards with slogans including “hands off our NHS” and “not safe not fair”, they listened to a speech from Dr Harriet Nerva, Hinchingbrooke doctor who is also chair of the regional East of England Regional BMA Junior Doctor Committee outside the front of the hospital.
“From what I know overwhelming numbers of our public support us because they tell us as patients, their families and people on the street”.
Mr Hunt went on to describe the industrial action as “very damaging” and said it was “important” to say that 43% of junior doctors had turned up to work.
Junior doctors started the Twitter campaign to make clear how crucial they were to the NHS.
The strike action follows a 24 hour strike that took place in January. If the Government wants more 7-day services then, quite simply, it needs more doctors, nurses and diagnostic staff, and the extra investment needed to deliver it.
The most recent strike was the second in the long-running dispute.
She said that as well as further industrial action, Mr Hunt’s announcement has already prompted some of her colleagues to say they will resign rather than sign the new contract. As a way of compensating doctors, the Government has offered premium pay to kick in from 5pm on Saturdays with a higher basic rate of pay.
The major sticking point is whether Saturday should in future be considered a normal working day for doctors.
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The Scottish Government will continue to use the existing contract.
