Hunt admits ‘cast iron’ guarantee does not apply to all junior doctors

When questioned by MPs in a recent House of Commons debate, Hunt relented that doctors opened out of the European Working Time Directive, working more than 56 hours per week, would not see their pay fully protected.

Despite Hunt’s plea for the British Medical Association (BMA) to return to the negotiation table, the BMA has said that Hunt’s new admission was just another example that proves it could not trust the government in negotiations.

Hunts was questioned by former Liberal Democrat health minister Norman Lamb. Lamb asked: “What about doctors who have opted out of [the EWTD] and are working 60 or 70 hours? Could they lose out?”

Hunt responded: “If they opted out of the working time directive, [the commitment] would apply up to 56 hours.

“For people who are working more than the legal limits, even after opting out, the right answer is to stop them working those extra hours because it is not safe for patients.”

Previously, Hunt had written a letter assuring the BMA’s Junior Doctor Committee (JDC) maintained that no junior doctor would see their pay cut.

In light of the Health Secretary’s recent comments, the JDC’s chair Dr Johann Malawana said: “Just hours after promising that no junior doctor would have a pay cut, Jeremy Hunt has now admitted that those working the longest hours would in fact see their pay fall.

“Jeremy Hunt has repeatedly shifted his position and this is another example of the health secretary claiming one thing, but the reality being quite different.

“It makes it impossible for junior doctors to trust the government when they have been caught out trying to gloss over the facts.”

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