Update 26/04/2016
The all-out strike is a hugely regrettable action and I am incredibly sad that the Junior Doctors’ contract has got to the stage where our practitioners have felt the need to withdraw services which include emergency care. On the morning of the first strike, I visited the Junior Doctors who were on the picket line at the Department of Health and then visited those outside Guys and St Thomas’ Hospital. The staff at this hospital have treated me with the utmost care and professionalism in the 4 months which I spent on crutches. I therefore wanted to look out for them in return and discuss their concerns and issues. I spent a large amount of time chatting to a number of Junior Doctors who argued their case with passion and reasonableness. Their key wish was for the BMA and the Government to sit down and thrash the remaining terms out. I have written to the Department of Health and the BMA to pass on this request. I very much hope that talks can resume and a solution can be found to enable our Junior Doctors to return to work under a contract which equips them to carry out their crucial role with pride and high morale.
Update 17/02/2016
Since my election in 2015, I have engaged with Junior Doctors who have expressed concern at the proposed changes to their contractual term and conditions. In order to understand the issues and concerns better, I invited those Junior Doctors who live in the constituency, or serve my constituents, to meet me in October 2015. Those who came left a lasting impression on me of their commitment to caring and a genuine concern for their future careers in the NHS. I gave them my commitment that I would do my best to represent their concerns to the Department of Health. I have subsequently met, on a number of occasions, with the Secretary of State and his team to express my views and I have spoken in the House of Commons to encourage further progress on reaching an agreement to the contract changes.
At the end of 2015, it appeared that an agreement was within reach. The planned strike by the BMA, who represent Junior Doctors, was postponed to allow for further talks. Unfortunately, these talks did not lead to the finality which had been hoped for. With more strikes having taken place, the Government, under the guidance of its lead negotiator, has determined that agreement on the contract terms cannot be reached and announced in the House of Commons in February 2016 that the changes would be imposed unilaterally. I attended that debate and was concerned by its outcome.
As well as meeting with local Junior Doctors, and with Government ministers, I have met twice with Dr Johann Malawana, the Chairman of the BMA's Junior Doctors Committee. I am a firm believer in listening to both sides of the argument and recognise the dedication and openness to this issue which has been shown by both sides. This only makes the breakdown of talks, and the resultant imposition of the new contract terms, to be even more frustrating.
From my own perspective, I have concerns with imposing contract terms on individuals. This can only occur due to the quirk which sees Junior Doctors renew their contracts every time they take another clinician rotation. In most other professions, the option of an employer to impose terms would not exist. I also fully understand, having seen it with my own eyes when visiting, and being treated in, our hospitals, the challenges which Junior Doctors face in our hospitals. Junior Doctors work incredibly hard and have to deal with the realities of our sometimes fractured society on a daily basis. The sad spectacle of alcohol and substance abuse, domestic violence, disorder on our streets and homes and a lack of care for elderly relatives is manifested in the patients which our Junior Doctors are treating in their wards. Government and Junior Doctors should be as one on the need for people to take more responsibility and on the cost which this brings to our NHS when they do not. I therefore find it depressing that the two sides cannot reach agreement on the terms of employment.
I will continue to do all I can to champion the needs of our Junior Doctors. I tend to do my lobbying of Ministers in private and will continue to do so. I hope that a negotiated outcome will be possible. I welcome the announcement from the Government that it will set up a review to seek to address the other issues which are impacting the morale of our Junior Doctors. This is a welcome admission that the contract issue is by no means the only reason why Junior Doctors are frustrated in their roles. When I was at University, we always looked at those studying medicine as being the best of our academic generation. I want to ensure that these brilliant medics remain within the NHS and are not lost abroad, only to be replaced by those from countries who have not enjoyed the same standards of training as our own have experienced.
I have attached various correspondence and updates on this matter and will continue to do so. I also note that, in support of our Junior Doctors, a petition has been set up to request that Parliament, and our MPs, sit on Saturdays. In my role as an MP, I tend to work on Saturdays in the constituency. Most MPs do so and many constituents may think that another day for MPs to pass more laws is not the best use of our time. The support that the petitioners hold for Junior Doctors is something I encourage as I hope this post reflects.
Update 12/01/2016
Following the decision of Junior Doctors to take strike action against the proposed changes to their contracts, I have written a letter to the Junior Doctors from the Bexhill and Battle constituency. This is to update them on what I have been doing to lobby both the Department for Health and the BMA to reach an agreement that works for all. You can read my letter at the bottom of this page.
Update: 30/11/2015
Giving Junior Doctors the terms their hard work deserves
Today, the Secretary of State updated the House of Commons on the Junior Doctors’ strike. I have uploaded a copy of the statement. The Secretary of State and the BMA have spent the weekend discussing terms. The House was today informed that these discussions have morphed into a potential agreement between the BMA leadership and the Government. It is not yet clear if this potential agreement will lead to a suspension of strike action. The BMA will confirm this point later today.
I have spent much time, in both the constituency and in Parliament, discussing the concerns which Junior Doctors have around the changes to their contract. I am therefore incredibly pleased that the Government and the BMA are now in dialogue. I recently met with the Chairman of the BMA Junior Doctors' Committee and was disappointed that the BMA were unwilling to come to the Department of Health and attempt to negotiate. I did mention that I would write in their support if they did make this move. Nonetheless, it is a positive move from both sides that discussion have now taken place at ACAS. It is key that both parties continue to discuss and reach an agreement which delivers the best possible contract for Junior Doctors and the NHS. Immediately following this statement to the House of Commons, I asked the Secretary of State if the Department of Health could focus its communications so Junior Doctors are given the best possible information from the NHS around their employment. I very much hope that Junior Doctors will get the terms and conditions which their hard work deserves.
Following visits to the local hospitals which serve the Bexhill and Battle Constituency and having met with a number of local Junior Doctors, I have written to the Health Secretary, the Rt Hon Jeremy Hunt MP. In this letter, I convey the opinions expressed by the medical professionals I have met relating to the proposed changes to the Junior Doctors' contract.
Please see attached a copy of that letter. The reply will be posted here in due course.
I had requested to speak in the debate on Junior Doctors’ contracts on 28th October 2015. However, given time constraints and the number of other members wishing to speak, I was unable to give it. Please find below a copy of the speech.
Attached also are two letters from the Health Secretary to the Chair of the Junior Doctors’ committee at the BMA, one following their meeting and the other in advance of the debate in the House of Commons on the issue and a briefing setting out the rationale of NHS Employers for the changes to Junior Doctors’ contracts.