Government Agrees To talks To Avoid Doctors' Strike, Writes To British Medical Association

by Benson Agoha | Health

There is hope that the Junior Doctor's strike planned for December 1, 2015 will be called off after the government accepted an offer to discuss the grievance of the Junior Doctors.

The new development from the health department followed Tuesday's tweet by the BMA which reminded the government that "...our offer of Acas talks is still on the table. 1 week till IA".

In a letter Wednesday addressed to Dr. Mark Porter, Chairman of the British Medical Association (and copied to Dr. Johann Malawana, the Chair of the Junior Doctors), the Secretary of State for Health, Rt Hon Jeremy Hunt said that achieving a negotiated solution on the Junior Doctors contract has been his objective from the outset.

He said Patient safety has been my absolute priority throughout my tenure as Health Secretary and argued that the strike action poses a serious threat to that safety.

The health Secretary said he believed it was time to work together to improve weekend care and avoid harming vulnerable patients by postponing your industrial action and resolving "our differences through talks, not strikes."

At the time of going to press, a date has not been set and no new update has been posted on the website of the BMA. But with both sides recognising the importance of safety, it seems points of disagreement are now to be narrowed to pay.