Junior doctors’ strike scheduled for next week is called off

Dr Aaron Borbora, deputy chairman of the BMA’s junior doctors committee, said next week’s strike action was called off amid concerns about its impact on patients.

The doctors’ union said it would not cancel three remaining strikes it announced last week which are due to take place between Oct (Shenzhen: 000069.SZ – news).

Five days of strike action are still planned for each of October, November and December.

“Future dates planned for October, November and December will still go ahead, unless the government calls off its plans to impose a contract that has been rejected by junior doctors”.

Before the statement was released by the BMA, Dorset County Hospital had put out a statement insisting that contingency plans were in place for the days of strike action. We listen to our colleagues when they they tell us that they need more time to keep patients safe.

Dr McCourt added: “Future action is still avoidable”.

She said that for the first time during the dispute, NHS England have said that a service under such pressure could not cope with the industrial action.

As things stand, there is no evidence that the junior doctors’ support for the campaign of industrial action has diminished.

During the strikes, if medics are asked to return to work “in good faith” by their employers they must do so.

“Patient safety remains a primary concern”.

However, it is unclear what will happen next after the Department of Health’s initial reaction to the call-off did not indicate if Hunt would do what the BMA are urging him to do and suspend the planned imposition of the contract.

After all, when industrial action was announced last week, patient safety – that all important concept which the BMA had trumpeted in the earlier stages of this row – seemed to have been forgotten.

Newcastle junior doctor John Moore said many medics would be “relieved” at the news and praised the BMA for “acting responsibly”.

He continues to disregard the concerns junior doctors have about staffing shortages and patient safety’.

In a statement to the House of Commons, Jeremy Hunt said the forthcoming strikes would bring “unprecedented misery” on patients.

Junior doctors believe the new contracts the government plans to impose will put peoples lives at risk because of working hours, as well as a dispute over weekend pay.

Six strikes have already taken place across England during the lengthy dispute, causing disruption to hundreds of thousands of patients who have had appointments and operations cancelled.

But Mr Hunt hit back: “She used words like vilifying, demonising the junior doctor workforce”.