More Junior Doctor Strikes

The British Medical Association has announced a week of strikes in England that will commence on September 12.

19:22 01 September 2016

The British Medical Association (BMA) has announced a week of strikes in England over contracts being imposed on them. Prime Minister Theresa May has accused the union of “playing politics” over its move. Urging junior doctors to put their patients first, she said that the contract being imposed on them was “safe”.

 

In response to BMA’s announcement, hospitals are drawing up contingency plans to ensure that patients receive the care they need during the strike, which will take place from 08:00 to 17:00 BST from 12 to 16 September.

 

Meanwhile, BMA said that it had no other choice as its members were opposed to the contract.

 

The prime minister, who gave full backing to Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt, had called on the union to call off the strikes. She said: "The government is putting patients first, the BMA should be putting patients first - not playing politics."

 

Mr Hunt said that five days of strike would delay an estimated 100,000 operations and one million hospital appointments.

 

Dr Mark Porter, chairman of the BMA council, said: "The reason this dispute has become protracted is not because anybody on our side wanted it to be protracted, it's because the single unifying thread throughout every part of this dispute has been the insistence of the government on moving ahead without agreement."