Junior doctors like me have been left in limbo while Jeremy Hunt plays politics with the NHS

The only substance fit for human consumption in my flat after fifty two hours of night shift working over the past weekend is some nicely packaged muesli. Bought out of guilt in an effort to counteract my diet of coffee, hospital canteen stodge and stress-relieving wine, it disappointingly has the taste and texture of torn up coffee filters. Still, even then it is easier to swallow than the words tweeted by Jeremy Hunt’s PR machine immediately following his last-minute decision on Monday evening to engage in negotiations with the British Medical Association. Then I was angry as well hungry, so it was time to make it everyone’s problem.

The tension on the evening of 30th November was palpable. An 11th hour discussion was raging somewhere over sandwiches in a Whitehall conference room. Between two of the aforementioned night shifts, I hovered sleepily over a piece of white cardboard wielding the chosen weapon of junior doctors nationwide: a marker pen of NHS blue. I stared blankly at my sign. What do I write? How do I convey all of our anger and frustration on a flimsy cardboard rectangle the same size as my two-person dining table? I needed something witty but to the point. Maybe it would appear behind Andrew Neil’s head on The Daily Politics if it was rude enough.

Then came a text: it was off. Jeremy Hunt had temporarily seen some sense, and our threat of strike action would be suspended until January to allow for further negotiation. In a statement following the talks, the chair of the BMA Junior Doctors Committee, Johann Malawanna, reiterated that the mandate for our strike action was clear: to force negotiation. The fact of the matter is, Jeremy Hunt has agreed, albeit temporarily, to abandon his plan to impose the new junior doctor contract upon us.

In return, we have agreed to temporarily suspend our industrial action. I plead with my colleagues not to feel disheartened by this. Any continuation of strike action would have been outside of the mandate and therefore of questionable legality. We would also likely have been vilified by the press, with Mr Hunt seen as backing down reasonably and us seen as storming ahead relentlessly.

To the public I say this: We are sorry that because the Secretary of State would not listen to our cries any sooner, your important operations and appointments were cancelled. We are sorry that it has ever come to this and we thank you for your ongoing support. Personally, I thank you that you have said the most wonderful, grateful things even whilst I’ve poked you with sharp objects at 4am. We are fighting this battle because we care about you. We will not let it rest because we believe that we should all continue to have world class healthcare provided by happy, well motivated, well trained and well rested staff. The contract that is currently on the table will produce none of these things.

For now, my sign remains blank. The marker pen is waiting patiently in a drawer. Jeremy Hunt has ruined many a thing, but not our resolve. Tens of thousands of doctors are telling him repeatedly that this contract is not safe and not fair. If talks break down once more, in January we will bring out our banners, our Meet the Doctor campaigns, our lanyards and badges, and our social media battering rams, and get fired up all over again. The future of our NHS depends on it.