Hunt accuses BMA of being ‘totally irresponsible’

Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt has accused the British Medical Association (BMA) of being ‘totally irresponsible’ amid the continued dispute regarding the junior doctors’ contract.

Speaking on the BBC’s Andre Marr show, Hunt said that the doctors’ union had refused to sit down and talk about improving patients care and accused the BMA of spreading ‘misinformation’.

The dispute dates back to 2014 and centres on changes to junior doctors’ contracts that will alter the classification of regular working hours on evening and weekends, with Hunt wishing to extend these to up to 10pm on weekdays and up to 7pm on Saturdays.

The Health Secretary claims these changes are vital to achieve a fully 24/7 NHS, but the BMA maintains that it is dangerous to patient safety as the contract does not include the proper safeguards to ensure that doctors do not become overworked. Additionally, they claim the changes will also lead to many junior doctors losing out on a considerable amount of overtime pay.

The disputes led to industrial action on 12 January, with a second walk out scheduled for 10 February.

When asked by Andre Marr about morale among junior doctors, Hunt said: "One of the reasons for that anger is that they were told by the BMA that their pay was going to be cut - it isn't. They were told that they were going to be asked to work longer hours - they aren’t.

"We are actually bringing down the hours that they work. And if you are told by your union that the health secretary wants to do these awful things - of course you are going to feel devalued."

In response to the contract dispute, Shadow Health Secretary Heidi Alexander said Hunt was ‘insulting the intelligence’ of junior Doctors.

She told Sky News: "This is a group of people who are incredibly intelligent, are able to make their own minds up, have read the proposals for themselves and have followed the negotiations very carefully.”