Hunt Says Strike 'Unnecessary' As Talks Resume

Association will resume discussions with the Government on Thursday morning in an attempt to reach a deal on new junior doctors' contracts.

It is hoped the disagreement over the new contract Jeremy Hunt wants to impose on junior doctors, which changes the deal medics get on weekend working, can be settled before the next 48-hour strike from 26 to 28 January.

Talks ahead of the first junior doctors’ strikes in 40 years on Tuesday were claimed by the NHS to have seen significant progress.

Chris Hopson, the chief executive of NHS Providers, claimed that 15 of the 16 issues had been resolved.

They key sticking point is the changes to weekend working, which would see junior doctors lose their extra pay for “unsocial hours” on Saturdays.

They would retain the higher level pay after 7pm on Saturday and all day Sunday.

Hospitals had to cancel 4,000 operations on Tuesday and thousands of appointments were scrapped when doctors joined picket lines for the 24-hour action.

Mr Hunt said nearly 40% (39%) of junior doctors chose to work, however, the figure included the medics who had agreed to work to maintain emergency care levels and not been asked by the BMA to take action. An "all-out" strike is planned for 10 February.

The Government says the changes to the contract are needed to provide a 24/7 NHS. A Downing Street spokesman said people were 20% more likely to die if they suffered a stroke at the weekend while newborn deaths were 7% more likely.BMA council chairman Dr Mark Porter told the Radio 4 Today programme: "We are prepared to speak with Government at any time to try to resolve this on behalf of junior doctors, of course we are.

"But it is not just one remaining issue. There are some serious issues about patient safety and recognition of junior doctors' contributions that need to be sorted here and the very fact that Government documents refuse to acknowledge those issues is one of the things that makes the dispute more difficult to resolve.

Speaking on Wednesday morning Mr Hunt said: "I hope they (talks) succeed. We want to settle this but it was a very unnecessary strike."

Mr Hopson said he could not guarantee that no patient would die in the event of an “all-out” strike which would see even emergency cover withdrawn.

He urged everyone to get back round the table to resolve the dispute.