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Medical chiefs call for help to solve junior doctor row

By Nagasunder in UK Business News, posted April 20, 2023

Medical leaders say an impartial organisation is needed to help mediate a deal over the junior doctors pay conflict causing chaos in the NHS.

So far, there have been two strikes, the most recent of which last week resulted in the cancellation of roughly 200,000 appointments and procedures.

For the sake of patients, the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges said a service like Acas was required.

According to the Department of Health, ministers would participate constructively without the involvement of a third party.

In their most recent dispute, which involved the adoption of a new contract, younger doctors and the government sought a resolution from the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges.

The organisation is now worried about both the ongoing wage dispute and the anticipated effects on services and patients that could result from any potential future action.

A statement from the academy said: "Both parties need to rapidly engage with an independent organisation to work out how the deadlock can be broken for the sake of patients and the wider NHS."

The British Medical Association (BMA), which advocates for young physicians, claimed it has already contacted Acas.

it said the Academy's action would increase pressure on the government to follow suit.

According to the BMA, using the conciliation process to resolve disputes offers "the most realistic chance" of ending the strike.

The NHS Confederation, the organisation that speaks for NHS health service trusts, had previously urged that Acas be involved. The health secretary was urged by Labour this week to "swallow his pride" and ask the service to "mediate an end" to the conflict.

Junior doctors make up 40 percent of the medical workforce and range from recent medical school graduates to those with several years of experience on the front lines.

They claim that after accounting for inflation, their compensation has decreased by 26 percent since 2008 and are seeking for a 35 percent wage increase.

The pay demand, however, has been deemed "unreasonable in the current economic context" by the government.

Due to the most recent strike, more than 20,000 procedures and treatments as well as more than 196,000 hospital visits had to be cancelled.

The NHS pay dispute, which also affects nurses, hospital staff, ambulance workers, and physiotherapists, saw the most cancellations to date.

With this, more than 500,000 appointments have now been impacted by all of the strikes over the previous five months.

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Prof Dame Helen Stokes-Lampard, chair of Academy of Medical Royal Colleges, said the industrial action is having a "serious impact" on the quality of care offered by the NHS.

Prof Stokes-Lampard said: "We hope both sides hear this call to start to find a way forward and act on it,"

"The longer this dispute goes on the more entrenched we all become and the harder it is to break the impasse."

Source: BBC

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