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Government reforms and Junior
doctors' work contracts.
http://cdn.images.express.co.uk/img/dynamic/1/590x/Doctors-608568.jpg http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/608568/Express-Crusade-Junior-Doctors-hundreds-protest-new-contract My wife and I, we both are
teachers. We teach Physics and Economics. We have three children, two
daughters and a son. The eldest daughter is a dentist,
the son and the youngest daughter are doctors. All three children went into
medicine/dentistry because, they loved the
profession and wanted to be doctors. They do their duties happily. They are
so bound by their duty schedules that despite being in the same city ie London, as parents we do not get to see them for weeks
(last Eid day, 23 Sept. 2015, is an example; when
none could come home for even the Eid
dinner). My youngest daughter who is
training to be a Consultant Anaesthetist has texted me the following on 27th
of September : ............................................................................................................................... Dear Dad, 27 September 2015 Can you contact your MP friends
regarding Jeremy Hunt's proposal to change the junior doctors
contract by 2016. I am completely opposed to this
current government's agenda. They are destroying the NHS in the same way they
have neglected the teaching profession since the late 1990s. Mr. Hunt proposes that he will be
making savings by cutting doctors' wages by 30%, stopping doctors from being
paid for overtime with the abolition of hours monitoring under the European
working hours law, introducing unsociable hours 7am to 10pm Mon-Sat (I
already work unsociable hours how can I physically do any more), taking away
doctors' accommodation, making maternity leave and out of programme
experiences unfavourable and making it increasingly difficult to change
specialities - all the while telling the British public that not enough
doctors work weekends (simply not true), that doctors earn too much (simply
not true - I am nearly 30 years old and I am still living in halls like a
student) and making false promises (provision of 5000 gps)
- not only is this implausible
(recruitment to medicine is at an all time low with many quitting, retiring
or going overseas) and little money in the system to provide the care needed
to for an aging population; but by undercutting the very people in the front
line of the NHS, selling parts of the NHS to private companies and paying
less skilled workers to take the place of doctors. I really fear for my profession.
I believe Adeeb (my brother who is a doctor) and I
will live through the demise of the one last noble institution in this
country if we do not fight back. I need people to know about this
travesty. We must contact newspapers/TV channels and electronic media and,
inform/challenge the government. Can you help ? ................................................................... Medics say that the new contracts
could see pay slashed by 15 percent as 'normal hours' would be declassed
as 7am to 10pm, Monday to Saturday. Extra pay for unsociable hours
would apply outside these times, rather than the 7am to 7pm, Monday to
Friday. The contract changes the Rt.
Hon. Secretary of State for Health Jeremy Hunt MP is proposing, will jeopardise patient safety and the
NHS. It is widely believed that
reforms to junior doctors' work contract risk leaving them so exhausted that
patients will be put at risk. Also, we do not want see our
children leave NHS and take up jobs in the USA or Australia. Regards. Dr. Hasanat
Husain MBE Convenor Letter to my MP about the Junior Doctor crisis Ms. Lyn Brown MP Shadow Communities Minister, House of Commons, London SW1A 0AA. 4th October 2015 Dear Lyn Brown MP, I am writing to you as your constituent
to ask for your help in holding the Government to account over the current
Junior Doctor crisis. By way of an introduction I am a paediatrician. I have been a medical student for 6 years
and a doctor for 5 years. I am a “Junior” Doctor. I am 36 years old. I have a
degree in Psychology. I had a career in the City before I studied medicine.
As a student I was refused a loan from the Government to pay for my tuition fees.
I took out loans culminating in £60,000 of unsecured personal debt to fund my
studies. My current salary is £31,000. I receive a supplement for regular
night, evening and weekend working of approximately £15,000. I have to
personally fund compulsory professional exams, insurance, and professional
fees. I have no choice where my next job is
(this changes every 6 months). I have no say on when
I can take my holidays. I regularly work between 48 and 70 hours a week. I
routinely work extra hours if needed to care for my patients. Some of my
shifts are so busy I don’t have time to eat, drink or use the toilet. In
every job I have worked there are serious staff shortages. My pay has been
cut in real terms for years by successive pay freezes. My pension has been
cut. Everyday I am being asked to do more with
less. Morale is at an all time low. I am working at the limit of what I can
endure. This picture is similar for all doctors. Doctors are leaving the NHS. I have put up with this because I love my
job, I believe passionately in the NHS. I recognise
what a privilege it is to care for children when they need it most. Everyday I interact with some of the most compassionate
and dazzlingly brilliant healthcare professionals who routinely go above and
beyond their contractual duties. This is why I am so angry about a Health
Secretary that has ridden roughshod over the NHS, its staff and its values;
time and time again. I hope that you have already heard from
many of your political colleagues, your constituents and other doctors on
this matter. If not, I have some issues about the new Junior Doctor contract
that I would like to highlight: 1. The new contract will reclassify
“normal” working time from 0700-2200Monday to Saturday. Doctors will lose the
modest overtime premium that we are paid in compensation for the existing
antisocial hours we work. This will cut the salaries for some of the most
acute specialties in the NHS (those with significant workloads at nights and
weekends- ie A&E, Obstetrics, Paediatrics, Intensive Care, Anesthetics, Surgery). This is a disaster given the current staffing
shortages and recruitment crises in these specialties. 2. The proposals remove fundamental
safeguards against excessive working hours. This is not safe for doctors and
certainly not for patients. We are already working desperately hard trying to
meet existing demand in the context of pre-existing staffing shortages. 20%
of paediatric registrar posts are not filled. We
are only human, and when physically, emotionally and mentally exhausted we
are more prone to error. This is simply not safe. 3. The new proposals remove pay
progression intended to reflect the clinical experience gained from years of
NHS service. This will disproportionately penalise
women who often work less than full time or take time out to have families.
Women make up the majority of the paediatric
workforce. This is a socially regressive step and undoes all of the work to
achieve parity and flexible working in our profession. 4. The removal of pay progression also penalises doctors who take time out to do important
medical research for childhood cancers, congenital heart problems and many
other areas. There is now a huge disincentive to take time out of training to
complete PhDs or to run clinical trials. This will seriously affect the UK as
a world leader in clinical research and to reduce the quality of the care we
can offer our patients. 5. The Government has willfully
misrepresented data suggesting that patients were more at risk of harm if
they were admitted at the weekend. The reasons for in-hospital mortality are
extremely complex and cannot be reduced to politically motivated sound bites.
The NHS is already working flat out 7 days, with senior cover. This prompted
a furious #ImInWorkJeremy Twitter campaign
and a government petition calling for Mr Hunt to be
removed from office, attracting over 200,000 signatures in just over 36
hours. 6. The Department of Health is saying
that we have refused to negotiate. This is not true. Doctors have been in
negotiations for over a year. The BMA walked away only when presented with an
unacceptable set of preconditions as the basis for our ongoing negotiation
(namely the points mentioned above). We were told if we did not accept this,
the contract would be imposed anyway. This cannot, and will not, be the
starting point for our negotiation. Junior doctors, some of the hardest
working members of society, are furious at the attitude of the Government.
The net result has been a grassroots movement against the imposition of the
new contract. Reluctantly we (via the British Medical Association) are
balloting for a strike, as we feel we have no other option. Over 5000 doctors
gathered on Monday to demonstrate our commitment to the vigorous opposition
of this contract. A Facebook group now has 48,000 members discussing our
strategy going forward. The BMA has a huge mandate for sustained industrial
action. Despite limited coverage from some
elements of the mainstream press (most notably the BBC) we are starting to
receive some acknowledgement of our concerns. A poll in the Guardian found
that an unprecedented 95% of those polled supported a strike. The Royal
Colleges have also taken the unprecedented step of issuing statements warning
of the damage this contract will do to the NHS in the short and long term.
This is undoubtedly the most serious medical professional dispute of a
generation. Much has been written about this
Government’s intention to open up the NHS to the Private Sector, a process
accelerated with the passing of the 2012 legislation. Despite the rush to privatisation, it is instructive that although all
doctors would financially benefit from a private healthcare system (we would
dramatically increase our salaries overnight), not one doctor I have ever
spoken to wants this. We have a unique healthcare system that
is the envy of the world. Which, despite the cynical and
factually incorrect rhetoric, consistently delivers compassionate, cost
effective healthcare. The US model, so passionately embraced by this
administration, is one of the most inefficient and fails to protect the most
vulnerable members of society. This is not just about our pay. It is
about our patients, it is about our NHS that we love so much. It is about
recognition of the caring, sacrifice and dedication of NHS staff I see every
day I am at work. I cannot stand by as a passive observer whilst the
systematic undermining of the NHS and those who work within it continues.
Enough is enough. I implore you to stand with us and fight
these changes to our contracts. Ask questions, table motions, speak at our
events, engage with your colleagues, meet with me, meet
with us. If you need further clarification, facts or references I am happy to
provide these. Please look at #JuniorContract #NotSafeNotFair to understand the
strength of feeling here. This issue will not go away. Please help us to protect
patients, doctors and the NHS now and for generations to come. Yours Sincerely, Dr Oliver Bates |
