Junior Doctors

EDM number 539 in 2015-16, proposed by Caroline Lucas on 19/10/2015.
Categorised under the topics of Employment, Health staff and professions and Industrial relations.

That this House recognises that junior doctors are dedicated professionals who are the backbone of the NHS, providing the best quality care for their patients; believes it is essential to ensure a contract that is safe for patients, junior doctors and the NHS; supports the view of the BMA's Junior Doctors Committee that the best outcome for junior doctors is a contract agreed through genuine and meaningful negotiations and therefore calls on the Secretary of State for Health to drop all preconditions; further believes it is essential that proper hours safeguards are introduced to protect patients and their doctors, together with proper recognition of unsocial hours as a premium time, and an agreement that work on Saturdays and late evenings cannot be considered the same as daytime on a weekday; believes there should be no disadvantage for those working unsocial hours compared to the current system, nor for those working less than full time and taking parental leave; is concerned that the NHS Trust's responsibility to monitor the number of hours worked has been withdrawn and urges its reintroduction; further recognises that junior doctors already work seven days a week for emergency work, and that the barriers to extend that to non-urgent elective work are the lack of complementary services, for example social care packages and pharmacists, not doctors' working patterns; and urges the Secretary of State to accurately reflect this reality in his statements, to work to restore morale within the NHS, and to bring an evidence-based approach to renewed negotiations.

This motion has been signed by a total of 91 MPs.