Northern Ireland: commitment to contract negotiation welcomed

  The Northern Ireland Government is committed to working with the BMA in reaching a negotiated settlement on a new contract for junior doctors. BMA Northern Ireland junior doctors committee chair Conan Castles (pictured above left) welcomed comments from health minister Simon Hamilton (pictured above right), who said that his Government ‘did not want to impose a contract’ on juniors. The comments came in the wake of health secretary Jeremy Hunt’s announcement that he would seek to impose a new contract on doctors in England, an outcome Dr Castles said he wanted to avoid. He said: ‘We agree with the minister’s statement that an imposed contract would be the worst possible outcome for Northern Ireland. ‘We will continue to represent the views of junior doctors to him and focus on what the best outcomes would be for patients and doctors in Northern Ireland.'   Negotiated solution Dr Castles added: ‘We have worked hard over the past few months to represent junior doctors’ views to the health minister via meetings with his department, attending party conferences and in face-to-face meetings and we are pleased this has now paid off.’ NI JDC has been meeting with Government representatives over the past few months in order to find a way forward. Mr Hamilton, who has previously insisted that his Government have no plans to impose a new contract, said that he was keen to work with the BMA in reaching a final decision. H...
Source: BMA News - Category: UK Health Source Type: news