Doctors to quit NHS if UK drafts new contract
A new survey suggests that thousands of British junior doctors will quit the National Health Service (NHS) if the government presses ahead with his threat to impose an unpopular contract on them.
About 71% of the 4,129 junior doctors polled said they would move abroad, become a locum or give up medicine altogether if the contract is forced on them next year as part of the government’s move to a seven-day NHS.
The poll has once again prompted warnings that such an exodus would leave the NHS unable to function.
Only less than one in three (28.6%) of respondents said they would stay in the NHS.
Earlier, a demonstration was held in London at which about 20,000 junior doctors protested against proposals which they say would cut their pay by up to 30% and force them to work even more antisocial shifts.
“These figures paint a very worrying picture. They echo the outpouring of anger from junior doctors in recent weeks and show just how let down they feel by the government’s proposals,” said Chair of the Junior Doctors Committee (JDC) Johann Malawana at the British Medical Association, the Doctors’ Union.
The Health Ministry has not yet officially reacted to the poll. A spokesman of the Department of Health said: “We recognise the incredible contribution junior doctors make to the NHS week in, week out, which is why we want to reward them fairly while ensuring that patients get proper seven-day care.”
According to media reports, the health minister responsible for negotiating with junior doctors, Ben Gummer, is under fire for wrongly telling a fellow Conservative MP that junior doctors can currently opt out of working at weekends and in the evenings and overnight.
Analysts have repeatedly warned about the changes in the doctors' contracts.
London-based political commentator, Chris Bambery says the government seems not to be aware of the consequences of the exodus of junior doctors.
He went on saying that the changes in the junior doctors contract would threaten the health sector of the society.
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