Jeremy Hunt urges junior doctors to negotiate after ‘unnecessary’ strike

The junior doctor was protesting in Southampton city centre when the pedestrian fell to the ground this afternoon.

Thousands are taking part in the strike across England in a dispute over a new contract and weekend pay.

Speaking on the picket line, Priyanka Palimar, a junior doctor and one of the BMA’s representatives in the county, said there had been a lot of support for the strike from members of the public.

His condition was not believed to be serious. The strike is the first two that are planned in the coming weeks. The strike has forced the cancellation of about 4,000 operations and outpatient procedures.

Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust has put into operation an emergency care only model at the hospital – similar to a Christmas Day service – as 43 junior doctors across Worcestershire Royal Hospital, as well as the Alexandra Hospital in Redditch and Kidderminster Hospital, take part in the national walk-out.

Senior medics in England have warned that the controversial new contract for junior doctors that have been proposed by the government would discriminate strongly against female medical practitioners, according to The Independent. “That’s our job as ministers, but it should never get to the stage of imposing a contract”.

RMT General Secretary Mick Cash also spoke out to pledge transport unions’ support for the strikes and said: “RMT members are urged to join the picket lines at their local hospital tomorrow to show solidarity with the junior doctors at this crucial point in their fight for justice”.

The British Medical Association said the new contract will cut pay and increase doctors’ hours, putting patients at risk of mistakes by tired medics.

“In summary, I think the best way forward would be to continue discussions rather than a strike”.

“These safeguards stop junior doctors from being overworked which is a direct impact on patients – a patient doesn’t want to be treated by a doctor who has just finished a 100 hour shift”.

“In the end we all have a shared vision in the wake of the tragedy of what happened at Mid Staffs to make the NHS the safest, highest-quality care in the world – not just to say, “We won’t let that happen again”, but to say, “Let’s learn from it and make our care the best anywhere in the world”. We are working with the NHS to ensure there are robust plans that protect the safety, welfare and service provided to patients.

“That can’t be acceptable and the right thing to do is not to strike but actually sit round the table and talk to the government”.

He added: “In the end this is a completely unnecessary dispute”.

“We are doing everything we can to mitigate its effects but you can’t have a strike on this scale in our NHS without there being some real difficulties for patients and potentially worse”.