Junior doctorsAn independent organisation should be brought in to help broker a deal in the pay dispute between junior doctors and the government, according to medical leaders. The Academy of Medical Royal Colleges, which brings together leading doctors and surgeons, said prolonged industrial action was having a “serious impact” on patients. Last week’s strike by junior doctors resulted in nearly 200,000 cancelled appointments and operations.
The Academy of Medical Royal Colleges has called for a conciliation service like Acas to be involved in the dispute. The academy said it had concerns about both a lack of a solution in the current pay row and the anticipated impact on services and patients that will potentially follow any future action. It noted “concerns and frustration” of doctors and “intense workload pressures”. The British Medical Association (BMA), which represents junior doctors, said it had already reached out to Acas and suggested the Academy’s intervention would put more pressure on the government to do the same.
The Department of Health said it would not involve a third party and that calls for a 35% pay rise by junior doctors were “unreasonable”. However, it said ministers would engage constructively. The NHS Confederation, Labour, and the BMA have all urged the health secretary to call in Acas to mediate an end to the dispute.
Acas can play an impartial role in helping to settle matters when there is a disagreement between an employer and group of employees. Recently it has been involved in mediation relating to the Royal Mail and higher education industrial disputes. Junior doctors are asking for a 35% pay rise, arguing their pay has been cut by 26% since 2008 once inflation is taken into account.
More than 196,000 hospital appointments and about 20,000 operations and treatments had to be cancelled because of the most recent strike. It was the greatest number of cancellations so far in the NHS pay dispute, which has also involved nurses, hospital staff, ambulance workers and physios. This brings the total number of appointments affected by all the strikes over the past five months to more than 500,000.
Prof Dame Helen Stokes-Lampard, chair of Academy of Medical Royal Colleges, said the industrial action was having a “serious impact” on the quality of care offered by the NHS. She urged both sides to start finding a way forward and act on it. Dr Adrian Boyle, the president of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine (RCEM), described the current situation in emergency services as “really tough”. He said there were not enough hospitals and called for capacity to be increased.
Government sources are maintaining their line that the BMA needs to row back significantly on their wage claim. The Department of Health said: “The Health and Social Care secretary has been clear his door is open and he remains willing to engage constructively but a 35% pay rise, which would involve some junior doctors receiving £20,000, is unreasonable.”Strike action also needs to be paused for formal talks to begin.”
Medical leaders have called for an independent organisation to be brought in to help broker a deal in the ongoing pay dispute between junior doctors and the government. The Academy of Medical Royal Colleges, which brings together leading doctors and surgeons, said prolonged industrial action was having a “serious impact” on patients. It suggested that a conciliation service like Acas should be involved in order to find a solution for the sake of patients and the wider NHS.
The Department of Health said it would not involve a third party, but stated that ministers would engage constructively. The NHS Confederation, Labour, and the BMA have all urged the health secretary to call in Acas to mediate an end to the dispute. Acas can play an impartial role in helping to settle matters when there is a disagreement between an employer and group of employees.
Junior doctors are asking for a 35% pay rise – arguing their pay has been cut by 26% since 2008 once inflation is taken into account. However, the government has said the pay demand is “unreasonable in the current economic context”. More than 500,000 hospital appointments have been cancelled due to strikes over the past five months.
Prof Dame Helen Stokes-Lampard, chair of Academy of Medical Royal Colleges, urged both sides to start finding a way forward and act on it. Dr Adrian Boyle, the president of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine (RCEM), described the current situation in emergency services as “really tough”. Government sources are maintaining their line that the BMA needs to row back significantly on their wage claim. The Department of Health said: “The Health and Social Care secretary has been clear his door is open and he remains willing to engage constructively but a 35% pay rise is unreasonable.”Strike action also needs to be paused for formal talks to begin.”