Shropshire junior doctor not ready to decide on new deal

Government negotiators and the British Medical Association leadership have reached an deal after eight days of talks at conciliation service Acas.

Health secretary Jeremy Hunt said the deal was a "significant step forward", while the BMA said it represented the "best and final way" to end the row.

The offer will now be put to a vote of over 40,000 BMA members.

That means it could still end up being rejected, but the fact the union and government have agreed a deal to end the stalemate is a major breakthrough.

Dr Rishwa Vithlani, who works as a paediatric registrar in Shropshire, said: "It is difficult to comment from the limited information we have had so far.

"The full contract details will be published at the end of the month and we will then in a better position to assess it."

Under the deal, Saturdays and Sundays will be paid at a normal rate between 9am and 9pm, with extra pay overnight seven days a week.

This represents a significant shift on the position held by the BMA in previous talks.

To compensate for losing money on the weekend day shift, doctors will receive a percentage of their annual salary for working more than six weekends in a year.

This will range from three per cent for working one weekend in seven to up to 10 per cent of their salary if they work one weekend in two.

Any shift which starts at or after 8pm and lasts more than eight hours, and which finishes at or by 10am the following day, will result in an enhanced pay rate of 37 per cent for all hours worked.

Some elements of the new contract, if approved in the BMA's ballot of junior doctors, will be implemented in August and all junior doctors in England will then move on to the new terms between October and August 2017.

Making a statement in the Commons to outline the agreement, Mr Hunt said it was a matter of "great regret" that strike action occurred.

He added it would not be the "end of the story" in an attempt to secure changes.

Mr Hunt said: "Taken together, these changes show both the Government's commitment to safe care for patients and the value we attach to junior doctors. "Whilst they do not remove every bugbear or frustration, they will significantly improve flexibility and work-life balance for doctors - leading, we hope, to improved retention rates, higher morale and better care for patients.

"But whatever the progress made of today's landmark changes, it will always be a matter of great regret that it was necessary to go through such disruptive industrial action to get there.

"We may welcome the destination but no-one could have wanted the journey so I say to all junior doctors, whatever our disagreements about the contract may have been, the Government has heard and understood the wider frustrations that you feel about the way you are valued and treated in the NHS.Our priority will always be the safety of patients but we also recognise that to deliver high-quality care we need a well-motivated and happy junior doctor workforce."