In light of the proposed new contracts that are being forced upon NHS junior doctors, and will take full effect in August 2016, we wholeheartedly believe that the government should show solidarity with their scheme, and lead by example, not do as I say, but do as I do. Our proposal would be identical to the planned obligatory contract for junior doctors, and thus, consist of redefining MPs social working hours to include Monday to Saturday, 7am to 10pm, whilst simultaneously annulling their inappropriate self-approved 10% pay rise to £74,000, besides the parliament’s generous allowances in a government proclaimed time of great austerity. As such, this new proposal will enable the public to have better access with their MPs and ministers, whilst allowing the opportunity for many more topics to be debated in parliament, which previously could not, cited due to a lack of time.

As a brief background, a junior doctor encompasses all medical doctors in training, this includes just about every doctor, except for the most senior, being consultants. These are some of the smartest, most dedicated and caring minds in our country that have worked hard from the get go, embracing many late nights in the library studying, long shifts, night shifts, and weekend shifts.

The dilemma that selfless junior doctors face throughout England is a pay cut of up to 30% in real terms. This is being masked by this government’s rhetoric of stating that there will be an increase in basic pay, nevertheless, this does not make up for the reclassification of social working hours, from the current Monday to Friday, 7am to 7pm, switching to Monday to Saturday, 7am to 10pm. These previous social working hours were formerly used to supplement pay to something more appropriate, and act as a financial disincentive for NHS Trusts to overwork their staff: in truth, bands were seen as an index of the anti-socialness of one’s rota.

These dangerous real term pay cuts will have disastrous consequences on our already heavily indebted trainees. It must be noted that this salary supplementation is used to pay for so-called hidden costs that run into the many thousands; these cover: registration fees, indemnities, memberships, examinations, conferences and courses, all of which are compulsory for professional career progression. This excludes the debt that has been incurred during medical school.  

The new contract will abolish automatic pay progression, meaning that those who are not working full-time will be discriminated against, for example, those with health issues, on maternity and paternity leave, or doctors advancing the field of medicine and health through research.

Furthermore, in a time when tube operators, lorry drivers, and pilots are forced to take regular breaks in the interest of passenger safety, doctors, who are arguably just as responsible for peoples lives, will only be afforded a maximum of 20minutes break every six hours; something which many doctors already struggle to find. On the DDRB (Doctors’, and Dentists’ Review Body) recommendations, there will be an eradication of the banding system that was used to protect doctors and consequently patients. To simply put it, employers will be directly responsible for enforcing legal working time regulations, removing the protection of the current contract.

Doctors are humans, and not robots. Where will the government be to face the GMC (General Medical Council), when tired over worked doctors are facing litigations? This radical restructuring of the contracts will alter the fabric of the NHS, our worker ants. It is a well-known fact that sleep deprivation and stress can produce comparable effects to being drunk, so doctor’s fatigue is a grave patient risk. It is illegal to allow someone to drink drive, but now, the government, in effect is concluding that it is legal for doctors to treat under the influence.  The government is sacrificing patient safety and staff wellbeing in the interests of cost saving. To have healthy patients, it is essential to have healthy doctors.

The NHS only functions on the good will of its staff, and by demoralising and vindictively attacking its workers, the NHS’s biggest supporters, this government is purposefully sending the NHS down a one way road to privatisation and oblivion. The government seems set on getting this signed, sealed and delivered at an incredible pace, despite ignoring over 99% of the 4,500 doctors who responded to a BMA (British Medical Association) poll emphasising that they found the recommendations to be unacceptable. Doctors are working longer than ever, and beyond their allocated hours for free, purely out of benevolence.     

As it stands, recent surveys have shown that the UK is dangerously understaffed, with the third lowest amount of doctors per capita in Europe; these proposed changes will only decimate our already crippled services. For the past two years, applications to study medicine have fallen according to UCAS (Universities and Colleges Admissions Service), despite a clear need for more doctors. At present, there is a medical recruitment crisis with 1 in 3 GP trainee posts, 50% of A&E training jobs, and a large portion of psychiatric training posts remaining empty.  

NHS staff retention is at an all-time low, with many doctors opting for a better life, in most cases, abroad. Patients deserve better care and safe staffing levels, however, this cannot be achieved by forcing the current dwindling number of trainees to work even more antisocial hours for less pay. When confronted with staff shortages, and vacant training posts, how can the answer feasibly be to cut the pay and impose dangerous new contracts, instigating even more trainees to join the exodus?

Previous attempts by government to make efficiency savings has not only failed, but in many cases has resulted in disastrous consequences for our healthcare, with sudden increases in cancelled operations and escalations in waiting times. Often, there are increases in spending, simply due to the cost of agency staff needed to cover for the lack of qualified staff.

Once again, I urge the government to lead by example through working on a similar contract before accepting this reform. This is only fair. Saturday will turn into the new Monday, and pay cuts will be normalised for NHS Staff. Our country will lose so much more than the government stands to save, and we must maintain the integrity of our NHS. NHS Scotland has rejected these contract changes, let’s follow their lead.

The Rt Hon Jeremy Hunt believes in homeopathy, but watering down the salary does not make it better.