Filed for The Guardian, 16 October 1991
The government is facing fresh difficulties in implementing its proposed “new deal” for junior hospital doctors following a wholesale change in the doctors’ leadership.
The new leaders of the UK Junior Doctors Committee have promised to take a much tougher approach towards winning extra resources to help reduce long hours. They have accused the previous leadership of selling out junior doctors.
“Junior doctors were fed up with their representation. This was not the right or the left but ordinary members replacing the leadership,” said Dr Steven Kisley, the committee’s new deputy chairman.
“We will be much more open towards the membership and much more aggressive about resources, particularly the need for better-paid overtime, more paramedical support and additional doctors. We want a cast iron commitment from the government on resources.”
At a meeting of the Junior Doctors Committee last week Dr Kisley beat Dr Andrew Carney in an election for deputy chairman. Dr Edwin Borman beat Dr Miles Fisher for chairman and the chairman of the powerful negotiating committee, Dr Stephen Vallely, was replaced by Dr Judith Jones.
The precise numbers of votes cast are not revealed by the British Medical Association which services the committee. The new leadership is meeting at the end of next week to formulate its plans in detail.
There has been growing concern since the government launched its “historic” new deal for doctors in June that insufficient resources are being made available to enable the targeted reduction in hours to be met. The aim is to reduce the average number of hours worked per week to 83 “as soon as practicable”.
Juniors doctors argue that reducing hours depends on employing sufficient extra paramedics, doctors and consultants. It is also important to introduce acceptable overtime rates, they say.
The Guardian reported in July that some junior doctors were threatening to resign from the BMA because of an alleged “sell-out” on overtime pay revealed by a leaked document. The junior doctors negotiating committee was bidding for overtime rates far below those agreed as policy by junior doctors.
Last week junior doctors from throughout the north west staged a protest outside the Conservative Party conference in Blackpool. They had taken industrial action with the support of their consultants for the first time in 20 years.