Hands up if you’re a trainee doctor planning to leave the country after you graduate
SHOWING a sea of defiant hands, this image gives an insight into the depth of feeling among trainee medics about the Government’s new junior doctors’ contract.
The medical students were asked to indicate whether they planned to leave the country after graduating because of the conditions that are being imposed.
More than half of the secondyear students at the University of Birmingham showed that they would shun England and instead try to find what they believe would be better hours or pay elsewhere.
The lecturer who took the photo, who asked not to be named, told the Sunday People: ‘These are pre- clinical undergraduates not yet working in hospitals but they already realise the contract has major implications for them. Many of them intend to cross into Scotland or Wales, where the new contract is not being imposed.
‘ Others will go to places far afield, like Australia and New Zealand. Who will deliver our front-line services then? It’s worrying.’
Junior doctors will continue their industrial action on Wednesday, when they will provide only emergency care for 48 hours. A two-day all-out strike – the first in the history of the NHS – is planned for later this month, when A&E, maternity and intensive care units will be abandoned altogether.
Some departments or wards may have to close due to lack of staff. The dispute was triggered by changes to Saturday shifts, which Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt says are necessary to improve weekend staff- ing levels when patients are most likely to die.
Medics claim they will have to work longer, putting patients’ safety at risk. They also say they will earn less with fewer top-up payments for working ‘anti-social’ hours.
Their normal working hours are currently 7am to 7pm on weekdays, but this will be extended to 10pm. On Satur-
‘Mishandling of new contract’
days, 7am to 5pm will also count as normal hours. Doctors’ union the British Medical Association had negotiated concessions including an average 13.5 per cent pay rise.
But it walked out of talks with the Government in February – so Mr Hunt decided to impose the deal without further input.
It is due to take effect from August. A BMA spokesman said: ‘The reaction of medical students in Birmingham underlines the devastating impact of the Government’s mishandling of the junior doctor contract on the morale of the next generation of doctors.
‘The BMA has repeatedly warned that the long-term delivery of patient care will be damaged by the proposed imposition, not least as many doctors will vote with their feet and leave the NHS.
‘With many areas of the NHS suffering from staff shortages, including general practice, emergency medicine and geriatric medicine, we cannot afford to lose more doctors abroad.’
The Department of Health said: ‘This contract is a huge step forward for achieving fairness for all trainee doctors. It’s worth remembering that 90 per cent of this contract was agreed with the BMA.’