Thousands of doctors congregated in London today to protest against the government’s plans to impose a new contract.
The march is the second of its kind in the capital, as the profession’s row with Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt continues.
Up on 20,000 people were said to have taken part, with demonstrators chanting “Hunt must go” and “Not safe, not fair, Jeremy doesn’t care”.
There is still the potential for doctors to go on strike after talks broke down between NHS Employers and the British Medical Association (BMA). Correspondence between Mr Hunt and Dr Johann Malawana, head of the junior doctors’ committee at the BMA, have failed to bring the groups back to the table.
Under the plans as they stand, the contract would reclassify junior doctors’ normal working hours to include Saturdays and later evening work, which critics argued amounted to up 30% pay cuts.
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“Normal” working hours would be reclassified as 7am to 10pm Mondays to Saturdays and extra money for working unsociable hours would be earned only outside these times. At present, junior doctors are paid extra to work outside of 7am to 7pm, Mondays to Fridays.
Hundreds of the marchers held banners and placards, with many wearing medical clothing.
Signs carried messages such as “Save Our NHS” and “Bad decisions cost lives”.
Others read “Tired doctors make mistakes” and “Quantitative easing for doctors not bankers”.
As the afternoon played out the doctors heard from multiple speakers.
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Peter Stefanovic, a partner in the clinical negligence department at Simpson Millar solicitors, gave a speech which ended in the crowd chanting: “Hunt must go.”
Asked about the new contract, he said: “It’s an absolute public disgrace. An absolute public disgrace. The injustice staggers the imagination.
“I am quite frankly astonished that I’m the only advocate that has come forward to fight for the junior doctors.”
Ranj Singh, a 36-year-old junior doctor who works in paediatrics, also addressed the crowd.
Asked about the new plans, he said: “They’re not fair and they’re not safe. For anybody involved - that’s patients and staff.”
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He said there has to be a willingness to discuss options, adding: “We want what is best for our patients.”
Harry Leslie Smith, a 92-year-old activist, had doctors in tears at the end of his speech.
He told the crowd the NHS is “Britain’s greatest achievement” because it has freed millions from sickness. He warned that it must not be handed over to corporations.
Dr Anna Warrington, from the protest organising committee, said earlier in the day: “This unprecedented protest brings together healthcare professionals and concerned public to raise awareness of the threat to our NHS from the imposed junior doctors’ contract.
“Junior doctors will not agree to contract changes that risk patients’ safety and doctors’ wellbeing. This event is about explaining our concerns to a wider audience.”
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Mr Hunt claimed that the BMA had misrepresented the proposed changes and said that the new contracts were a “good deal” for doctors.
He said: “I think it is incredibly disappointing, the way that the BMA has misrepresented the government’s position.
“It’s caused a huge amount of anger unnecessarily. We don’t want to cut the pay going to junior doctors, we do want to change the pay structures that force hospitals to roster three times less medical cover at weekends as they do in weeks and that means there’s a 15% greater chance of dying if you are admitted on a Sunday, compared to being admitted on a Wednesday.”
“This is a good deal for doctors. We are reducing the maximum hours a doctor can be asked to work from 91 to 72 hours, we’re stopping doctors being asked to work five nights in a row,” he added.