Pressure mounts on Jeremy Hunt

Pressure is growing on health secretary Jeremy Hunt, pictured, to shelve plans to force through the junior doctors’ contract, with leading clinicians and experts revealing a looming crisis of morale and recruitment in the country’s hospitals. Senior NHS staff say the contract — described as anything from ‘highly challenging’ to a ‘disaster’ — should not be forced on doctors and has already led to a huge list of vacant training places. Medical directors and other leading doctors have called for the Government to return to talks immediately, raising concerns about the NHS losing the medical leaders of tomorrow and the ‘impossible’ task of achieving safe staffing levels on wards. One hospital trust told the BMA that it had considered offering doctors an alternative contract but could not press ahead because it had been threatened with funding withdrawal by the NHS.   'Good people' Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh NHS Foundation Trust medical director Umesh Prabhu said: ‘We need to put the juniors at the heart of everything we do. That needs to be the attitude. It’s about inspiring and motivating, not bullying. ‘I think [Mr Hunt] should invite senior medical leaders to speak to him — these are good people. 'We all need to sit round a table and make the best of this contract and work out how to inspire juniors and make sure they are the future of this NHS. ‘Our HR director thinks we could...
Source: BMA News - Category: UK Health Source Type: news