Hunt announces “potential agreement” with BMA to stop junior doctors strike

This week’s strike action by junior doctors is now “almost inevitable” the British Medical Association (BMA) has stated.

Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt said today that a “potential agreement” had been reached after NHS England estimated that the three days of strike action would see up to 20,000 patients have operations cancelled.

The action would cause mass disruption to the NHS, with hospitals forced to cancel outpatient clinics and non-urgent operations.

Paediatric junior doctors will also be in Leeds city centre teaching how to save a child’s life if they start choking.

“A small positive step has been made over the past few days by the Government’s eventual agreement to enter into negotiations mediated by ACAS (Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service), but now the threat of this contract is still present and we remain deeply concerned”.

“We will continue to regularly monitor the situation and liaise with our junior doctors”.

The remainder are expected to man picket lines at King’s Mill and Mansfield Community Hospital.

“But most importantly, I’m striking for my patients – you people who sadly don’t even understand the full implications of what this government are doing with this contract and the NHS which I care about so much”. It will allow for four weeks of further negotiations before the BMA can commence any further industrial action.

This comes not just to avert the immediate consequences of the proposed strike but also to manage the two-third physicians who have expressed their opinion to quit services or move overseas in case the new government contract for physicians becomes a reality. 98 per cent of the 37,000 junior doctors balloted in England voted for strike action by November 19.

Dr Cliff Mann told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “We fully understand the concerns of our junior doctors and at the moment terms and conditions are a real barrier to recruitment into emergency medicine”.

Junior doctors elected to take industrial action over a Government contract that would increase basic pay by 11% but reclassify Saturdays and evening hours as “normal” time, which makes doctors working those hors ineligible for overtime.

Under the revised 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.

Rehana Azam, of the GMB union, said earlier: “These cuts in pay have already led to staff shortages in the ambulance service and things will only get worse”.

“It is not fair for the doctors and it is not safe for patients”.

“We already work long hours, weekends and nights and there is no issue with that – but we don’t want to do more unsociable hours and take home less money for it”.

The dispute relates to changes to junior doctors’ working contracts that Mr Hunt claims are needed to create a truly seven-day NHS.