NHS: New Junior Doctor Contract — House of Lords, 2016-04-18
Topic: Health
David Prior (Conservative, Centre-right): My Lords, with the leave of the House, I shall repeat as a Statement the response to an Urgent Question given in the other place by my right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Health on junior doctors’ contracts. The Statement is as follows "Mr Speaker, this House has been updated regularly on all developments relating to the junior doctors’ contract, and there has been no change whatever in the Government’s position since my statement to the House in February. I refer members to my Statement in Hansard on 11 February and to answers to Parliamentary Questions from my ministerial colleagues on 3 March, which set out the position very clearly. Nevertheless, I am happy to reiterate those statements to the honourable lady The Government have been concerned for some time about higher mortality rates at weekends in our hospitals, which is one of the reasons why we pledged a seven-day NHS in our manifesto. We have been discussing how to achieve this through contract reform with the BMA for over three years without success. In January, I asked Sir David Dalton, the highly respected chief executive of Salford Royal, to lead the negotiating team for the Government as a final attempt to resolve outstanding issues. He had some success, with agreement reached in 90% of areas However, despite having agreed in writing in November to negotiate on Saturday pay, and despite many concessions from the Government on this issue, the BMA went back on that agreement to negotiate, leading Sir David to conclude that, "there was no realistic prospect of a negotiated outcome". He therefore asked me to end the uncertainty for the service by proceeding with the introduction of a new contract without further delay. That is what I agreed to, and what we will be doing. It will start with foundation year 1s from this August and will proceed with a phased implementation for other trainees as their current contracts expire, through rotation to other NHS organisations. Let me be very clear: it has never been the Government’s plan to insist on changes to existing contracts, but only to offer new contracts as people change employer as they progress through training. This is something the Secretary of State with NHS organisations as employers are entitled to do, according even to the BMA’s own legal advice National Health Service foundation trusts are technically able to determine terms and conditions, including pay, for the staff they employ. However, the reality within the NHS is that we have a long tradition of collective bargaining, so in practice trusts opt to use national contracts. Health Education England has made it clear that a single national approach is essential to safeguard the delivery of medical training, and that implementation of the national contract will be a key criterion in deciding its financial investment in training posts. As the Secretary of State is entitled to do, I have approved the terms of the national contract This Government have a mandate from the electorate to introduce a seven-day NHS, and there will be no retreat from reforms that save lives and improve patient care. Modern contracts for trainee doctors are an essential part of that programme, and it is a matter of great regret that obstructive behaviour from the BMA has made it impossible to achieve that through a negotiated outcome".