Shropshire Star

Poll: Is the Government to blame for junior doctors going on strike?

Junior doctors have voted overwhelmingly for strike action because of "unsafe and unfair" contracts, a Shropshire GP said today.

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Dr Mary McCarthy said going on strike was not a decision that doctors took lightly, but they felt a stand needed to be made.

The British Medical Association said 98 per cent voted in favour of strikes, with just two per cent against. There were 11 spoiled ballot papers.

More than 37,000 doctors were balloted by the BMA, with 76 per cent taking part in the vote.

Dr McCarthy, of Belvidere Medical Practice in Shrewsbury, is chairman of the local medical committee and represents Shropshire on the BMA's GP committee.

She said: "The Government is still trying to impose a contract that doctors think is unsafe and unfair. It apparently will only sit down to negotiate if over 20 preconditions are met. I understand independent advisory conciliation group Acas are being brought in to mediate."

Dr Faraaz Bhatti, a doctor in emergency medicine from Telford, feared the contract would lead to many doctors moving abroad.

"Many young doctors are now becoming increasingly disillusioned by the Government's stance in relation to its perceived attack on them," he said. "The proposed contract is a serious patient safety issue and raises alarm bells throughout the NHS."

Asked if they were prepared to take part in industrial action short of a strike, 28,120 – 99.4 per cent of the vote – said yes. And when asked if they were prepared to take part in strike action, 27,741 voted yes, compared to 564 who voted no.

The BMA said it was still keen to avoid strike action and had approached Acas for talks with Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt and NHS Employers, which is running negotiations for the Government.

If a strike goes ahead, doctors will take action over three days, providing emergency care only for 24 hours from 8am on December 1, followed by full walkouts from 8am to 5pm on December 8 and 16.

There is expected to be mass disruption to the NHS, with hospitals forced to cancel outpatient clinics and non-urgent operations.

Dr Mark Porter, chair of the BMA council, said: "We regret the inevitable disruption that this will cause but it is the Government's adamant insistence on imposing a contract that is unsafe for patients in the future, and unfair for doctors now and in the future, that has brought us to this point.

The new contract is set to be imposed from next summer on doctors working up to consultant level.

Mr Hunt tried to avert strikes with a fresh deal, including an 11 per cent rise in basic pay. This is offset by plans to cut the number of hours on a weekend that junior doctors can claim extra pay for "unsocial" hours.

Mr Hunt has argued that under the new deal, just one per cent of doctors would lose pay and those would be limited to doctors working too many hours already.

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