Shropshire doctor slams imposition of contract by Jeremy Hunt
A hospital doctor from Shropshire has accused the Government of being "removed from the people" as it plans to impose a controversial new contract on junior medics.
Dr Faraaz Bhatti, a registrar in emergency medicine from Telford, accused Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt of putting party politics before the public in pressing ahead with the contract, which will end extra payments for working on a Saturday.
The Government had drafted in Sir David Dalton, chief executive of Salford Royal NHS Foundation Trust, to broker a deal with the British Medical Association, but the deadlock could not be broken.
The Government said the changes were necessary for people to receive a full range of hospital services at weekends as well as weekdays, but the BMA said the terms were unfair and would mean doctors working when they were tired. Mr Hunt told MPs yesterday that Sir David, backed by NHS leaders, had asked him to end the uncertainty for the service by proceeding with the introduction of the new contract. He said Sir David and his colleagues considered the contract to be both safer for patients and reasonable for junior doctors.
Mr Hunt said the new contract would increase doctors' basic salary by 13.5 per cent – higher than the previously stated 11 per cent – and that three quarters of doctors would see their take-home pay increase. He said that no doctor working their contracted hours would see a pay cut, and the contract would cut the maximum number of hours worked every week by junior doctors from 91 to 72. Under the new contract, 7am to 5pm on Saturdays would be regarded as a normal working day.
Dr Bhatti said the contract was unfair and did not reflect the work. He said: "Jeremy Hunt is a politician and what we have seen today is political spin at its best."
