Both sides in the junior doctors dispute held nine hours of conciliatory talks on Thursday and will resume face to face discussions on Friday, in a bid to prevent a planned a series of walkouts over the government’s threat to impose new working contracts.
Representatives of the British Medical Association, NHS Employers and the Department of Health met under the auspices of the independent Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (Acas) at an undisclosed London venue in an attempt to end the increasingly bitter dispute before the first strike due next Tuesday.
None of the parties involved made any official comment after the first day’s talks broke up about what, if any, progress had been made in reconciling their differences. But the fact the talks had taken place, and gone on for nine hours, sparked cautious optimism in the medical profession that Acas would help find a resolution and avoid the walkouts planned for 1, 8 and 16 December.
An Acas spokesman said only that: “Talks under the auspices of Acas between NHS Employers, the Department of Health and the BMA have adjourned for the day and will resume [on Friday].”
Last Sunday, health secretary Jeremy Hunt was still maintaining his hardline stance over the dispute and insisting he had the prime minister and the chancellor’s support for his handling of it, which has caused dismay and anxiety in both the medical establishment and NHS hierarchy.
On Wednesday, he sent an emollient letter to Dr Mark Porter, the BMA’s chair of council, in which he agreed to let Acas mediate to try to find a settlement.
In it, he reiterated the need for more doctors to work at weekends in order to reduce deaths among weekend-admitted patients, but emphasised his desire to find a compromise over the new terms and conditions under which the 45,000 junior doctors in England will work from next August.
Hunt wrote: “My strong preference is to get round the table and agree with the BMA how we do so in a way that you consider fair, and we are willing to listen and negotiate on any concerns.” The BMA believes the contract Hunt has threatened to impose is unfair for doctors and unsafe for patients.
David Prince, Acas’s chief conciliator, oversaw Thursday’s first round of talks, assisted by Acas regional director Rob Johnson. In recent months Acas has become involved to try to settle national disputes involving Tata Steel, the probation service, Network Rail and London Underground.