Do not invest more money than you can afford to lose.
Extra payments for unsociable working will be earned only outside these times, rather than after 7am to 7pm Monday to Friday as for now.
Hunt used an academic study published in the BMJ to support his claims that NHS weekends see a lot more “avoidable” deaths than weeks do. I don’t see how they could increase the weekend cover, without decreasing the doctors that are on during the week. The redistribution of shifts that will inevitably occur as a result of the increase in plain time is categorically a plan to deliver their elected health manifesto on the cheap. When you cancel more social gatherings than you attend, or give up Christmas after Christmas with your family because you’re at work, you have to love it not to burn out. Working at 9pm on a Saturday is not social. The fact remains that the “training grades” of doctors were not created to dictate pay. Perhaps if the DDRB panel had any clinical experience training as doctors, they would be aware of the difficulties with this. They say this could amount to a 30 per cent cut. This is crucial – there is simply no point having a hospital full of doctors doing routine work if there is no one to process the blood tests, rehab the patients, dispense the drugs etc. “The proposals will improve patient safety by better supporting a better NHS”, a spokesperson for the Department of Health said. So what is the issue you ask?
“It certainly feels that we are not getting a chance do that – even though we stand to lose the most from this new contract”.
These changes will affect everyone and I am concerned that this contract is setting up junior doctors to fail by demoralizing then overworking and under valuing them. Mr. Hunt wants more doctors at the weekend, I say wonderful!
The letter continues to suggest that in these “exceptional circumstances” where remuneration of overtime is due, it needs to be “authorized by an appropriate person”.
Switching our “plain time” contractual hours from 0700-1900 Mon-Fri to 0700-2200 Mon-Sat: How would you feel if your boss suddenly told you now work 1400-2200 Tuesday to Saturday? ‘But I’m anxious that this is the beginning of the end for the NHS’. This will also make it harder for me to return to work and arrange childcare. Is my word not good enough?
“He’s also promised that the total amount spent on junior doctors’ salaries won’t change, and that on average no doctor will be worse off, “on average” being the key phrase”.
Will It Mean Junior Doctors Are Paid Less?
Two doctors last week complained to the Cabinet Office about Hunt’s use of the 11,000 figure and said he has misled MPs.
Mr. Hunt goes on to refer specifically to pay.
Speaking at PMQs on Wednesday, Prime Minister David Cameron said: “The plans that we have are not for increasing Junior Doctor hours”. Majority of course just guarantees more than 50% and I don’t believe there is a quantifiable element to “great”. I want to have a family, and in New Zealand and Australia you get more money for working fewer hours.’ In the 10 days after the new contract was announced, the GMC had 3,468 requests for the certificate needed to register for work as a doctor outside the United Kingdom; usually it processes 20-25 requests a day.
