Fears for Patient Safety as 98% of Junior Doctors Vote to Go on Strike
>>>in Bitter Dispute with Jeremy Hunt over Working at Weekends
- 37,000 doctors were balloted by the BMA, (BRITISH MEDICAL ASSOCIATION), and 76% took part in the vote
- 98% backed strike action over changes to pay for night and weekend shifts
- Only emergency care will be offered for 24 hours from 8am on December 1
- Similar walkouts planned from 8am to 5pm on both December 8 and 16
Daily Mail UK, 19 November 2015
Patient safety could be put at risk by junior doctors going on strike, it was warned today as 98 per cent voted in favour of a walkout.
The huge support for industrial action follows a bitter dispute with Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt, who today said the result was 'very, very disappointing news'.
There is expected to be mass disruption to the NHS, with hospitals forced to cancel outpatient clinics and non-urgent operations as doctors provide only emergency care for three days.
Some 98 per cent voted in favour of industrial action following a bitter dispute with Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt
Up to 20,000 people marched through central London on Saturday over Jeremy Hunt's proposed new contract, which means that evening and Saturday work will no longer be paid at a higher rate
More than 37,000 doctors were balloted by the BMA, and 76 per cent took part in the vote.
It means doctors will strike 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.
It sparked warnings about the impact on patients. Katherine Murphy, chief executive of the Patients Association, said she was 'extremely worried by the confirmation that industrial action by junior doctors will go ahead'.
'Patient safety will undoubtedly be put at risk by this decision. Whilst the views of doctors must be heard, the potential consequences of this strike for patients are severe.
'It is not too late for this industrial action to be called off. We call on the Government and the BMA to hold talks to try to resolve the dispute before December 1.
'We understand it may be difficult for both sides, but if they don't reach agreement then patients will suffer. All sides must work together to find a compromise that is in the best interest of patients.'
Mr Hunt described said contingency plans would be put in place 'to make sure patients are safe'.
Despite the outcome of the vote, the BMA today said it was 'keen to avert the need for industrial action' and has approached conciliation service Acas for talks with the government and NHS Employers.
Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt described said contingency plans would be put in place 'to make sure patients are safe'
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.
'Patients are doctors' first priority, which is why, even with such a resounding mandate, we are keen to avert the need for industrial action, which is why we have approached Acas to offer conciliatory talks with the Health Secretary and NHS Employers to clarify the conflicting information coming from Government over the past weeks.
'The Health Secretary is right when he says this action is 'wholly avoidable'.
'Our message to him is that junior doctors have today made their views perfectly clear but that it is still possible to get back around the negotiating table to deliver a contract that is safe for patients, contains the necessary contractual safeguards to prevent junior doctors being overworked and properly recognises evening and weekend work.'
Mr Hunt has warned that the strikes are 'totally unwarranted' and will harm patients.
A new contract, designed to increase working at weekends, is due to be imposed from next summer on doctors working up to consultant level.
It would cut the number of hours on a weekend that junior doctors can claim extra pay for 'unsocial' hours.
((***HUMBUG! He is an idiot! > ALL UK Doctors, under the rank of ''Consultant level', already work long exhausting hours WITHOUT sleep,,,,,
>thus putting the patients at risk > as mistakes could be made.
The UK NHS is already overloaded, and now moreso with MORE Immigrants being allowed in....JMO....LB....
***))
To offset the losses, Mr Hunt offered an 11 per cent pay rise, but this was rejected by the BMA.
Currently, 7pm to 7am Monday to Friday and the whole of Saturday and Sunday attract a premium rate of pay.
Under the new plans, a higher rate would run from 10pm to 7am Monday to Friday, and from 7pm on Saturday evenings - a concession on the previous 10pm.
Other proposals are to replace the GP pay supplement - without which GPs would be paid on average around a third less than hospital trainees - and replace it with a 'flexible pay premium'.
Despite the outcome of the vote, the BMA today said it was 'keen to avert the need for industrial action' and has approached conciliation service Acas for talks with the government and NHS Employers.
The BMA is concerned this could be removed over time and may only be offered in certain geographic areas.
Mr Hunt has said flexible pay premiums would be applied to more specialities than just general practice and A&E care, with acute medical ward staff and psychiatrists benefiting.
He argues that, under the new deal, just 1% of doctors would lose pay and those would be limited to doctors working too many hours already.
He said maximum working hours per week would fall from 91 to 72.
Dr Johann Malawana, the BMA's junior doctor committee chairman, has said the increase in basic pay is misleading due to the changes to pay for unsocial hours. He said this devalues the vital work junior doctors do in the evenings and at weekends.
The BMA has argued the Government could avoid strikes by offering assurances and lifting the threat that the contract will be imposed.
Guaranteed pay increases linked to time in the job are being scrapped and replaced with a system linked to progression through set training stages.
The BMA argues this affects some trainees, such as women who take time out to have a baby.
Quote:
WHY ARE DOCTORS GOING ON STRIKE? WHAT DOES IT MEAN FOR PATIENTS?
Junior doctors have voted in favour of strike action in a row with the Government over a new contract.
What is the Dispute About?
The Government is intent on introducing a new contract for doctors working up to consultant level to replace one it says is 'outdated'.
Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt wants to introduce a 'truly seven-day NHS'.
He plans to cut the number of hours on a weekend that junior doctors can claim extra pay.
Under the most recent proposals, doctors will receive an 11 per cent rise in basic pay but extra pay for 'unsocial' hours will be cut.
What do Junior Doctors Get Paid?
Currently shifts from 7pm to 7am Monday to Friday and the whole of Saturday and Sunday attract a premium rate of pay.
Under the new plans, a higher rate would run from 10pm to 7am Monday to Friday, and from 7pm on Saturday evenings (a concession on the previous 10pm).
Other proposals are to replace the GP pay supplement (without which GPs would be paid on average 31 per cent less than hospital trainees) and replace it with a 'flexible pay premium'.
The BMA is concerned this could be removed over time and may only be offered in certain geographic areas.
Mr Hunt has said flexible pay premiums would
be applied to more specialities than just general practice and A&E care, with acute medical ward staff and psychiatrists benefiting.
What About Fee-Paying Work?
At the moment junior doctors can retain any fees earned for work beyond their NHS duties as long as it does not interfere.
Under the new proposals, fees earned would have to be given to a doctor's employer.
i.e. = THE GOVERMENT!.....
The BMA says this would constitute a significant loss of income for some doctors in training, and restrict their potential income compared with what is available currently.
When Will the Strikes Happen?
Junior doctors would only provide emergency care for 24 hours from 8am on December 1, followed by full walkouts from 8am to 5pm on December 8 and 16.
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'I'm at Work Jeremy... Are YOU?':
How Angry Doctors Used Social Media to Target the Health Secretary over Weekend Shifts
NHS staff turned to Twitter to condemn Jeremy Hunt this summer after he lashed out at the health service for the standard of its weekend care.
Dozens of medical staff posted pictures of themselves in uniform with the hashtag #ImInWorkJeremy in a bid to show the Health Secretary their commitment.
It came after Mr Hunt suggested senior staff were not working enough weekend shifts and said top doctors should ‘get real’ about the importance of a seven-day service.
The selfie campaign was launched on Facebook by a trainee doctor and lobby group>
Keep Our NHS Public supported the campaign on Twitter, writing:
'Hashtag for health workers who want to alert the world when working 24/7 is #ImInWorkJeremy. Hope you're listening @Jeremy_Hunt.'
Doctors from across the country took to the micro-blogging site with many choosing to also
divulge how many hours they have had to work in one week.
(In an attempt to counter the internet onslaught, at one stage Mr Hunt posted a picture online of himself in scrubs during a visit to a hospital...
= 30mins > 1 hour MAX!...
... He must have been exhausted folks... 
)...LB
He wrote alongside the picture: 'Fascinating visit 2 see brain surgery at UCLH and inspirational leadership of Neil Kitchen. Thx 4 making me welcome' (sic).
However, he came under fire and was accused of breaching patient confidentiality after the image captured a board listing patients on the ward.
The picture was soon edited to take out the information, but critics demanded Mr Hunt issue an apology for the apparent blunder.
Some 40,000 junior doctors have taken part in a ballot which closes today over whether to walk out in a row over their contracts
CONCLUSION: Decide for Yourselves Members..PLEASE POST Your Thoughts and Opinions.. 
>>>
Pictures of UK MP Jeremy Hunt in 'Scrubs' During Brief Visits to UK Hospitals..;
>He Admits He is Clumsy;
Hunt concedes that he is somewhat 'clumsy': He narrowly avoided hitting a woman when a hand bell flew from his grasp during the Olympics
"Bedside" manner: Jeremy Hunt on one of his undercover stints as a hospital worker in a clean unoccupied bed.. (press were present of course)..
The Minister says it is 'a betrayal' how people suffering from dementia can be treated after another brief visit to a NHS hospital
Hunt had treatment last year when he was diagnosed with a non-malignant skin growth on his scalp. He had it removed
quickly & PRIVATELY, just before the Olympic Games >>> in a
PRIVATE room at a FREE NHS hospital by a NHS Specialist Doctor..>>>...
,
UK Doctors to Go on STRIKE=Caused By 'Clumsy' MP
PUTIN TRUMP & Netanyahu Will Meet in HELL
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