Junior doctors has announced another three 48-hour strikes in an attempt to stop a new contract to be imposed without their consent. The three strikes are scheduled to begin on March 9, April 6 and April 26 from 8 am. These will follow two 24-hour strikes already held this year that caused a number of operations to be cancelled.
Dispute over pay, working hours and patient safety have been cited as the cause of the strike, according to the British Medical Association (BMA). Junior doctors contend that the government failed to perform equality impact assessment (EIA) required under the law before deciding to impose the unilateral contract, Independent reported.
Under the existing contract, junior doctors are paid at a premium rate for working between 7pm to 7am from Monday to Friday and weekends. However, should the new contract be implemented, the working hours of 7am to 5pm on Saturdays will be counted as a normal working day, Evening Standard reported.
Junior doctors argued that the small rise in pay under the new contract will be at the expense of patient care because it will remove safeguards that prevent junior doctors from working dangerously long hours. As a result, it may impair their performance and morale.
"The fact is, junior doctors already work around the clock, seven days a week and they do so under their existing contract. If the Government wants more seven-day services then, quite simply, it needs more doctors, nurses and support staff, and the extra investment necessary to deliver them," said BMA's junior doctor committee chief Dr. Johann Malawana.
In response, National Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt told The Guardian that the new contract is "substantially closer to what the BMA were asking for."
National Health Service chief Danny Mortimer urged doctors to scrutinize the final contract in detail before taking part in any future action. He believes that the final contract creates a win-win situation for the parties involved.
