Strong support for strike sends clear message to government, says BMA

Tens of thousands of junior doctors turned out to express their unhappiness about proposed changes to their contract on the first day of industrial action by the medical profession for 40 years, on Tuesday 12 January.

The atmosphere among some 38 000 junior doctors on picket lines across England was described as one of solidarity and good natured, with strong public support. The walkout is backed by two thirds of the public (66%), showed the results of an Ipsos MORI poll for the Health Service Journal.

Johann Malawana, chair of the BMA’s Junior Doctors Committee, sounded a note of regret that negotiations with the government had failed to reach a resolution. He declared Tuesday “the saddest day in our profession’s recent history.”

He said, “Today’s action sends a clear message to Jeremy Hunt and David Cameron. Junior doctors in their thousands have made it quite clear what they think of the government’s plans to impose contracts in which junior doctors have no confidence.

“We deeply regret the level of disruption caused, but this is a fight for the long term safety of patients and junior doctors’ working lives. The biggest threat to patient care is the government’s insistence on removing safeguards which prevent junior doctors from being forced to work dangerously long hours without breaks, with patients facing the prospect of being treated by exhausted doctors.

“Before the government seeks to blame junior doctors for the wider, daily pressures on the NHS, Jeremy Hunt should reflect on the 16 397 operations cancelled in just one quarter last year. Or what he plans to do about the £1.6bn deficit facing NHS trusts. Or his fanciful promises of thousands of new GPs during a recruitment and retention crisis.”

Industrial action by junior doctors scheduled for 1 December 2015 was called off on 30 November, when NHS Employers and the BMA agreed to re-enter negotiations. But these talks broke down on 4 January, and renewed strike action was announced.1

Acas (the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service) said that it hoped that talks between the BMA and NHS Employers would resume later this week, but if these break down junior doctors plan further industrial action from 8 am on Tuesday 26 January to 8 am on Thursday 28 January and then full withdrawal of labour, including emergency cover, from 8 am to 5 pm on Wednesday 10 February.

The main sticking points in the contract for the BMA are safeguards on safe working and proper recognition for working unsocial hours.2

Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s World at One news programme on 12 January, Jeremy Hunt, the health secretary for England, said, “This is a wholly unnecessary dispute. We want all NHS patients to have the confidence that they will get the same high quality care every day of the week. At the moment, if you have a stroke at the weekend you are 20% more likely to die, and that cannot be right. The right thing to do is to sit round the table and talk to the government about how we improve patient safety and care—not these very unnecessary strikes.”

In a statement Malawana added: “Today once again junior doctors in England ask for one thing: please give us a contract that is safe and fair. Despite the accusations, I have no interest in making this about the Conservative Party or the secretary of state. We simply want a safe fair contract and to work in an NHS that is sustainable for the good of our society.”