Junior doctors threaten strike in pay row

Speaking at the event in Manchester Cathedral, Julie said: “We are here to defend doctors’ contracts and to save the NHS”.

Union bosses have clashed with health secretary Jeremy Hunt over proposed changes to doctors’ contracts they say will see members out of pocket and forced to work harsher hours.

In a letter, the 505 consultants, who will bear the brunt of any potential strike, said they recognise that junior doctors are an integral part of the health service.

London medics will join junior doctors nationwide in a “full walkout” December 8 and 16 and offer only emergency care on December 1, subject to final ballot, the British Medical Association (BMA) announced today.

The first date would see junior doctors refuse to do all but emergency work, while the second two days would involve complete walk-outs, leading Jeremy Hunt to accuse the BMA of “extreme action”.

Dr Wollaston said the plan was “far too extreme”, coming in the middle of what is traditionally the busiest period of the year for the NHS.

In an e-mail to BMA members in England, chairman Mark Porter said: “We are releasing this information at this early stage because we want to give as much notice as possible”.

‘Industrial action is the last resort for a reason: it comes only when every other avenue has been exhausted.

“The NHS is already in a dire situation that the junior doctors are already working endless amounts of overtime unpaid to ensure continuity of care for patients”.

The Government says the new contract will improve patient safety and increase cover at weekends.

He added maximum working hours per week would fall from 91 to 72 under the new deal.

Doctors and the government have been locked in an increasingly bitter dispute over plans for new contracts.

Thousands of medics protested in Leeds on October 28 against controversial changes they fear would lead to longer hours and reduced pay.

A BMA spokesperson said: “No junior doctor, nor the BMA, takes the possibility of industrial action lightly”.

These include withdrawal of the threat to impose the new contract, proper recognition of unsocial hours as premium time, no disadvantage for those working unsocial hours compared to the current system, and no disadvantage for those working less than full time and taking parental leave compared to the current system.

“Proposed strike action, as outlined by the BMA would be hugely regrettable”.