New strikes planned for junior doctors as talks fail

After talks between the British Medical Association (BMA) and Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt to end the contract dispute broke down, three junior doctor strikes have been planned to take place on the 12 and 26 of January, as well as 10 February.

The dispute is a result of an ongoing disagreement between the government and junior doctors over a new contract which will create more seven-day services, however the BMA maintain such a service could lead to doctors being over-worked, resulting in unsafe working conditions.

The government has asked the conciliation service Acas to help end the contract dispute. So far, a 24-hour walk-out has been planned for the 12 January and a 48-hour strike on the 26 January, with a third full withdrawal strike date expected to take place on 10 February.

The news comes after the BMA agreed to cancel three strikes last month and re-enter talks with the government.

The strike action is likely to result in the cancellation of thousands of non-emergency operations and hospital appointments.

However, despite not being able to reach a deal, both sides have remained insistent that they wish to keep negotiating ahead of next week’s walk-out.

The strike details announced are: 8 am Tuesday 12 January - 8 am Wednesday 13 January (emergency care staffed); 8 am Tuesday 26 - 8 am Thursday 28 January (emergency care staffed); and 8 am - 5 pm Wednesday 10 February (full walk-out).