Love the idea of nationalized health care or hate it, one thing is sure – all is not well in its Camelot, Britain, as thousands of junior doctors ended a second 24-hour strike in a labor dispute with the National Health Service.
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Health secretary Jeremy Hunt wants junior doctors’ working patterns to become more flexible in order to deliver the “seven-day NHS” the Conservatives promised in the general election.
“Patient safety is our priority and we have worked with our staff, including consultants, nurses, other health professionals and union representatives, to ensure high quality and safe care and welfare are maintained”.
At the last strike we asked them for their messages to patients.
No operations have been cancelled but some outpatient appointments are not going ahead.
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According to NHS England, around 60 per cent of the 50,000 junior doctors in England took part in today’s industrial action.
In response, Dr Malawana said in a letter to Mr Hunt on Wednesday that the BMA “deeply regret” the dispute and urged him to accept their suggestion to reallocate some of the proposed 11% rise in basic pay for unsocial hours payments.
More than 37,000 junior doctors across the country – including 2,000 in the Thames Valley – voted in favour of industrial action previous year, although a planned strike in December was halted the day before when talks reopened.
Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust says it is aiming to maintain as near to normal service as possible and has contacted patients whose appoinments have been affected.
Currently, 7pm to 7am Monday to Friday and the whole of Saturday and Sunday attracts a premium rate of pay for junior doctors.
“Hopefully the Government will see we continue to be united and enjoy the support of the public and will return to more reasonable negotiations rather than rejecting our proposals”. Moreover, Mr Hunt pointed out that the maximum number of consecutive long days will be reduced from 7 to 5 and no doctor will ever be rostered consecutive weekends.
Deputy Chairman of the Junior Doctors’ Committee, Dr Aaron Borbora, told JMU Journalism: “This is not just a question of pure money, we believe that Saturdays are a special time that we can spend with our families”.
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It appears the main issue the union and the government is at loggerheads over is regarding pay for working on Saturdays.
