Mr Hunt told the House of Commons this afternoon he had given the BMA a “time-limited period” to agree to terms which could mean the strike is cancelled.
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The British Medical Association (BMA) and the government have agreed on a potential agreement that will suspend strike action, however the strikes are still planned to start at 8am tomorrow.
The plans were drawn up despite fears that the withdrawal of labour could cost lives, given that junior doctors make up around half of the medical workforce.
Hospital trusts across the North East say that while some services will have to be prioritised, patients will be told in advance of any changes to their appointments.
But talks between the British Medical Association and the Government held by conciliation service Acas have made progress.
Mr Hunt has repeatedly accused Junior Doctors and the BMA of walking away from negotiation and stalled talks.
Earlier, hospital managers said four outpatient clinics had been cancelled in order to support care on the hospital’s wards, though they insisted all other planned work, including emergency care, would continue as usual.
Dr Rory Hicks, 24, a foundation year two doctor at the Royal Oldham, will be striking with his colleagues outside the hospital’s main entrance.
Controversy centres around the proposed deal which would see junior doctors’ weekend pay rates cut in exchange for an 11% basic pay rise.
She said: “The new contracts will remove the safeguarding of doctors hours and there is no good reason to do that and it will affect the safety of our patients”. Government health bosses plan to impose the new contract next year in England.
More than 4,000 patients have already had their treatment delayed.
Any industrial action by medics will now not go ahead before 13 January as long as fresh negotiations with the Department of Health are able to proceed.
Currently, 7pm to 7am Monday to Friday and the whole of Saturday and Sunday attract a premium rate of pay, but under the new plans, a higher rate would run from 10pm to 7am Monday to Friday, and from 7pm on Saturday evenings – a concession on the previous 10pm.
He said: “It does appear that a lot of Doctors are being misled here by the BMA”. Mr. Hunt wants to change physicians’ contracts to create a seven-day NHS with non-emergency health services available across the weekend and outside office hours. Local doctors are hopeful that something can be done, but we have a long way to go.
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“We regret the inevitable disruption that this will cause but it is the government’s adamant insistence on imposing a contract that is unsafe for patients in the future, and unfair for doctors now, that has brought us to this point”, said a spokesman for BMA, according to The Guardian.
