Contract will have ‘adverse effect on women’

Senior medical leaders have criticised the Government’s ‘unacceptable’ admission that the new junior doctors contract will have a disproportionate impact on women. The Department of Health’s equality impact assessment, which was published along with the contract last week, suggests that ‘any indirect adverse effect on women is a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate end’. The assessment notes that doctors could face footing the bill for increased cost of childcare during evenings and weekends and suggests that single mothers would be hit hardest — but health leaders say the language used is ‘incompatible’ with women being supported to work in the NHS. Jane Dacre and Clare Marx, presidents of the Royal College of Physicians of London and the Royal College of Surgeons of England, expressed their concerns. In a joint statement, they said: ‘We are very concerned by the language in the Government’s own equality analysis of the contract, which warns that features of the new contract “impact disproportionately on women”. ‘Recent commitments from Government to support women in business are greatly welcome. 'We view the wording of the equality analysis as incompatible with this approach.’   Streets ahead Their concerns were shared by Royal College of GPs chair Maureen Baker, who said:  ‘I’ve always been incredibly proud of our NHS — general practice in parti...
Source: BMA News - Category: UK Health Source Type: news