Medical colleges call for an end to junior doctor dispute

The Academy of Medical Colleges has called on the government to ‘pause’ the process of imposing the new contracts for five days to try and come to an agreement and avoid further strike action.

The Academy is urging both sides to drop all preconditions and begin fresh talks to try and come to an understanding.

In response to this plea, the British Medical Association (BMA) has agreed to temporarily suspend further strike action and return to the negotiating table, but only if the government agrees to suspend the threat of imposition.

However, the Department of Health (DoH) has said it is too late to suspend bringing the contracts in, but it is prepared to return to talks on how best to implement the contract.

Professor Dame Sue Bailey, chair of the Academy of Medical Colleges, said: “A five day pause without ‘ifs, buts or maybes’ and with both sides in the dispute publicly committing to a serious attempt to reach a resolution through genuine dialogue is obviously the only way out of this impasse.

“Before either side does anything else, all the 22 medical royal colleges and faculties are unanimously calling on the secretary of state for health, Jeremy Hunt, and the chair of the BMA’s Junior Doctors’ Committee, Johann Malawana, to take a deep breath, dial down the rhetoric and get back to the table for talks facilitated, perhaps, by a senior independent figure.”

Responding to this plea, Malawana said: "The government itself has admitted that there are serious, outstanding issues with the proposed contract.

"As such, the BMA would be prepared to agree to this proposal and temporarily suspend industrial action so that talks can resume with a mutually agreed facilitator, if the government is also prepared to suspend the threat of imposition."