Thousands Of Doctors March Over Contracts

A protest by junior doctors over Government plans to impose a new contract has taken place in central London.

Young medics are warning they could be forced to leave the NHS over Jeremy Hunt's proposals, which the British Medical Association claims will cut pay for doctors working anti-social hours.

Placards were made to represent workers who are against the new contract, but who could not attend because they are already in work - a jibe against the Health Secretary.

Mr Hunt has claimed the NHS does not offer a truly "seven-day-a-week" service, yet doctors insist this applies solely to routine care rather than emergency treatment.

Junior doctors also believe the new contract would stretch the NHS beyond breaking point - as it would demand a 40% rise in staff productivity without any further resources.

Mr Hunt has accused the BMA of misrepresenting the Government's position - and "stoking up quite unnecessary anger".

But Dr Anna Warrington, one of the protest's organisers, has said the Department of Health's claims that the new contract will not reduce pay for junior doctors is "just spin".

She told Sky News: "From the terms and conditions of the proposed contract are that for anti-social hours – which all doctors expect to work – our remuneration will be halved."

Dr Sheneen Meghji, 32, a junior doctor from London, said the new contract plans are "really rather terrible" and are "dire" for the NHS. Jeremy Hunt is peddling some vicious lies to the media, to patients and to the public in general."

Activist Harry Leslie Smith, 92, gave a speech that left some protesters in tears as he told the crowd the NHS is "Britain's greatest achievement" because it has freed millions from sickness, and he warned it must not be handed over to corporations.

There have been increasingly bitter exchanges since the BMA decided two months ago not to re-enter discussions over the contracts.

At the time, the union claimed the Government was only willing to make concessions on one of 23 stipulations in the contract, meaning any further talks would have been "more of an imposition than a negotiation".

Dr Johann Malawana, chair of the BMA's junior doctors' committee, said: "Instead of genuine negotiations, the Government has insisted that junior doctors agree to recommendations without question.

"This is unacceptable and would not have allowed the BMA to negotiate over proposals we believe are unsafe for patients, unfair for doctors and undermine the future of the NHS."

The new contract would see junior doctors' "normal" working hours extended to include evenings and Saturdays, reducing overtime payments.

Basic pay would be increased, but those working in specialties such as A&E say they would still see an overall pay cut.

The cap on the number of hours a doctor can work in a week would also be reduced, from 91 to 72. But doctors say there are no penalties on hospitals that ignore the cap.