Thousands of doctors to protest over new contract plans

By The Press Association17th October 2015News EnglandNews England, NHS, Workforce

Thousands of doctors are expected to join a protest in London over the Government’s plans to impose a new contract.

The march is the second of its kind in the capital as the row continues between Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt and representatives of the British Medical Association (BMA).

Strike action among doctors is still on the cards after negotiations broke down between NHS Employers and the BMA over the contract, which covers all doctors up to consultant level.

A series of letters between Mr Hunt and Dr Johann Malawana, head of the junior doctors’ committee at the BMA, have failed to bring the two groups back to the negotiating table.

Under the current plans, the contract will reclassify doctors’ normal working week to include Saturdays and late evening working.

Critics have argued the deal could mean pay cuts of up to 30%, with “normal hours” reclassified as being from 7am to 10pm, Monday to Saturday.

Extra payments for unsociable working will be earned only outside of these times, rather than the current arrangements of 7am to 7pm Monday to Friday.

Mr Hunt has indicated he would be willing to look again at how far “normal hours” extend on Saturdays.

The protest will start with speeches at 2pm at Waterloo Place, before the march moves along Pall Mall and Whitehall.

It will end in Parliament Square outside the House of Commons between 5pm and 6pm.

Protests in Belfast and Nottingham will also take place today, and in Dundee on Sunday.

Dr Anna Warrington, of the protest organising committee, said: “This unprecedented protest brings together healthcare professionals and concerned public to raise awareness of the threat to our NHS from the imposed junior doctors’ contract.

“Junior doctors will not agree to contract changes that risk patients’ safety and doctors’ wellbeing. This event is about explaining our concerns to a wider audience.”

Mr Hunt accused the BMA of “misrepresenting” the proposed changes, insisting the new contract is a “good deal” for doctors.

“I think it is incredibly disappointing, the way that the BMA has misrepresented the Government’s position,” he told the BBC.

“It’s caused a huge amount of anger unnecessarily. We don’t want to cut the pay going to junior doctors, we do want to change the pay structures that force hospitals to roster three times less medical cover at weekends as they do in weeks and that means that there’s a 15% greater chance of you dying if you are admitted on a Sunday, compared to being admitted on a Wednesday.”

He added: “This is a good deal for doctors. We are reducing the maximum hours a doctor can be asked to work from 91 to 72 hours, we’re stopping doctors being asked to work for five nights in a row.”

Mr Hunt said if he was a junior doctor and believed the Government was pushing through the changes claimed by the BMA he would also be protesting on the streets.

But he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “I have made absolutely clear we do not want to reduce the pay going to junior doctors at all.

“What we need to do is change the balance of pay between weekdays and weekends so we don’t force hospitals to roster three times less medical cover at weekends.”

Mr Hunt said reductions in pay for working antisocial hours would be offset with an increase in basic pay.

Asked if the NHS would save any money overall, he replied: “Not a penny. And we have made this very clear to the BMA, which is why it is so disappointing.”