Junior doctors’ contract could ‘compromise patient safety’, says Ex-Tory

“Junior doctors are not easily roused”.

Hundreds of junior doctors have taken part in a demonstration to “show solidarity” with colleagues in England facing changes to their contract.

“However, the junior doctor contract that has emerged over the summer – the contract that the Department of Health now wants to impose – is very different from the one being discussed this time a year ago. Now we are seeing junior doctors, for the first time ever, balloting for strike action over their contract of employment”.

The changes would also see Monday to Saturday, from 7am to 10pm, deemed normal working hours.

Ministers say they want to simplify complex arrangements which result in extra payments to reward unsocial hours and weekend working on top of the basic salary.

Dr Andrew Koo, 29, from Moortown, Leeds, is a newlywed pursuing a career in radiology and planning a family but as the conflict between Government and doctors’ union the British Medical Association (BMA) rumbles on his future is on hold.

Dr Johann Malawana, the chair of the BMA junior doctors committee, whom Hunt met for talks last week, said: “This is a damning account of how badly the government has handled the junior doctor contract”.

Dr Poulter, a former junior doctor, wrote in the Guardian that when he was overseeing negotiations over the contracts a year ago, the coalition government had reached “many areas of broad agreement with the BMA” including on the need to improve training and to find a better way of remunerating medics for on-call work at night and at weekends.

The health secretary told the Conservative Party conference on Tuesday the government’s plan for a seven-day-a-week NHS was needed to prevent thousands of unnecessary deaths happening at the weekends. It adds to the growing chorus of voices throwing doubt over the government’s ability to deliver a seven-day NHS.

“Who does Jeremy Hunt hope to lure into medicine in future with the prospect of leaving doctors with £100k debt, accommodation to pay for and a salary valued at lowest paid worker?”

The Government has said it plans to impose the new contract on doctors, up to consultant level, next year.

Dr Malcolm White, a junior doctor based in Glasgow, and initial organiser of the event said: “I saw the tide of strong feeling about the issue, particularly from colleagues in England, and wanted a way to show support”.

“I’m actually helpless but the children we work with for example have no decision over their health care or their safety – these changes are affecting them”.

“Our proposals will mean average pay will not go down and there is no intention to increase working hours”, a spokesman said.

Dr Kieran Zucker, who works in oncology and is on the BMA’s junior doctor committee, feels strike action must be considered as posts that involve the most unsociable hours are “chronically under filled” but the hardest hit.