Emergency care will still be available during junior doctors' strike, BMA says

The British Medical Association has sought to clarify that people in need of emergency medical care will be treated during this week’s strike.

Junior doctors will walk out between 8am and 5pm Tuesday and Wednesday. Unlike during previous strikes, they will not provide emergency care.

Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt has said the stoppage was “extreme” and could put patient safety at risk, but BMA chair Dr Mark Porter said senior doctors would still be providing emergency cover.

“It is not true that emergency care is being withdrawn on Tuesday and Wednesday. It is true that junior doctors won’t be providing it, but hospitals will be full of senior doctors, such as my colleagues, who will be providing it,” he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme. “It’s important for the people of this country to understand that this does not mean that that cover will not be provided, it means that senior doctors will be providing that cover.”

Consultants and specialists have been moved off longer-term elective duties and are being re-rostered to provide A&E cover as part of contingency planning.

Dr Porter said the BMA was happy to return to negotiations if Mr Hunt lifted the threat of unilaterally imposing the a new contract on doctors. The Government has refused to lift its threat, however – and accused doctors of a “political” strike to bring down the Government.

“We haven’t refused to talk, we’ve continually requested talks,” Dr Porter said. “We have said repeatedly and always that we will call off the strike if the Government will call off the imposition. By contrast, the Government has said there is nothing that will get it to call off the imposition.

“There’s a lot of discussion amongst junior doctors and no decisions have yet been taken, which means they’re all possible but that doesn’t mean they’re either likely or going to happen.”

Junior doctors say the new contract will incentivise unsafe shift patterns and put patient safety at risk, while the Government says it will help improve medical care at weekends.

The Government has said it will impose a new contract on them without their agreement. Doctors say the new contract will harm patient safety by incentivising unsafe shift rosters. The Government says it will help improve care at the weekends.

The new contract is cost-neutral so it is not a case of doctors asking for more or less money overall, though there may be individual winners and losers from it.

Junior doctors will not be providing emergency care, but senior doctors have been drafted in and will be providing emergency care.

It applies across England. Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have devolved hearth services and are unaffected. Previous strikes have seen high turnouts and doctors’ leaders are expecting a similar situation this time.

The vast majority of GP services will be unaffected. GPs are by definition senior doctors and are not on strike. Some unorthodox walk-in or health centre services may be affected: it is best to phone ahead.

Junior doctors overwhelmingly back the strike. They voted by 98 per cent to 2 per cent in favour of striking, on a turnout of more than 70 per cent.

All polls suggest that the public support the junior doctors and blame the Government for the dispute. There is slightly reduced support for a strike that includes emergency care, but the public still supports doctors overall.

There are none officially planned, but unless a conclusion can be reached more seem likely. Leaked documents suggest some in the BMA are advocating an indefinite all-out strike until the contract is withdrawn.

Both sides are accusing each other of refusing to negotiate. The BMA says it will call off the strike if the Government scraps plans to impose the contract without agreement. The Government is refusing to do this and has now accused the BMA of a “political” strike to bring down the Government