Junior doctors announce industrial action for Jan. 12

The British Medical Association announced junior doctors throughout the United Kingdom will take industrial action beginning Jan. 12 after it rejected a “summary offer” from the National Health Service Employers and Department of Health for new contracts.

On Jan. 12, junior doctors in the United Kingdom will offer only emergency care, and no other services, for 24 hours. If contracts are not agreed upon by Jan. 26, the junior doctors will offer only emergency care for 48 hours beginning Jan. 28. If contracts are not agreed upon by Feb. 10, junior doctors will cease all operations between the hours of 8 a.m. and 5 p.m., according to a British Medical Association (BMA) press release.

According to a BMA executive summary issued Jan. 4, the BMA (on behalf of the junior doctors) re-entered negotiations with the National Health Service Employers and Department of Health in December. The negotiations were brokered by the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS).

According to the BMA, the “summary offer” proposed by the government was rejected for several reasons. The BMA noted the government’s offer did not have adequate safety provisions, and neither side reached an agreement on pay progression. In addition, in the release, the BMA said it rejects Saturday as a normal work day and said it should be paid as a weekday.

In a BMA press release, Dr. Mark Porter, council chair of the BMA, criticized the unwillingness by the Secretary of State for Health Jeremy Hunt and the government to consider the concerns of the junior doctors.

“After weeks of further negotiations, it is clear that the government is still not taking junior doctors’ concerns seriously. Furthermore, the government has repeatedly dragged its feet throughout this process, initially rejecting our offer of talks and failing to make significant movement during negotiations. We sincerely regret the disruption that industrial action will cause, but junior doctors have been left with no option. It is because the government’s proposals would be bad for patient care as well as junior doctors in the long-term that we are taking this stand,” Porter said in the release.

In a letter to Porter that was published on the Department of Health’s website, Hunt wrote that he was “very disappointed” to hear of the BMA’s decision to take industrial action despite “good progress in the negotiations.”

“As you know, we had resolved 15 of the 16 issues we agreed to discuss in the memorandum of understanding agreed with ACAS on 30 November and that you raised during the negotiations,” Hunt wrote in the letter. “These included safety issues such as maximum working hours as well as measures to improve the quality and experience of training for junior doctors. On the final unresolved issue of pay for weekend working, we remain willing to show flexibility and

negotiate in good faith. It is therefore highly unfortunate that your team were not willing to discuss any compromise on this issue even though we have made clear that pay will be protected for all doctors working within contracted maximum hours.”

When reached for comment, Chief Executive Officer of the British Orthopaedic Association (BOA) Mike Kimmons, CB, told Orthopaedics Today Europe the association’s position on the contract negotiations has not changed since it published a statement on its website in November.

In its November statement, the BOA held that the Secretary of State for Health’s contract proposal would create a “challenging” and “unsustainable working environment” for the junior doctors. The BOA also held the proposal would create difficulties in regard to junior doctors’ training and education.

References: www.bma.org.uk www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-of-health