HEALTH Secretary Jeremy Hunt has confirmed he will impose an
unpopular new contract on junior doctors after months of talks have
reached "the end of the road".
The Health Secretary announced the new contract will be imposed from August 1 in the House of Commons on Thursday.
His announcement - just hours after the trainee medics finished their second strike - comes as a massive blow for England's 54,000 junior doctors - any doctor below consultant level.
A deadline for the British Medical Association (BMA) to accept the deal passed on Wednesday night, which the Government's chief negotiator Sir David Dalton earlier warned would mean talks had reached "the end of the road".
Defiant junior doctors have reacted
to the news by threatening to step-up industrial action by carrying out
even more strikes over the next five months.
And fears over a mass exodus of the much-needed medics have now been heightened after a poll released on Wednesday revealed as many as 90 per cent of junior doctors would leave the NHS if the contract was imposed.
Mr Hunt revealed 90 per cent of the 100 diferent points of discussion had been agreed with the BMA before Christmas, leaving 10 per cent to be forced on doctors.
He also told the Commons during a statement the negotiating process with the BMA had uncovered some "wider and more deep-seated issues relating to junior doctors' morale".
As a result he announced a Government review by Dame Sue Bailey which will look at what measures can be put in place to remedy the situation.
For more detail Junior Doctors threaten five months of strikes as Jeremy Hunt IMPOSES 'unsafe' contract
His announcement - just hours after the trainee medics finished their second strike - comes as a massive blow for England's 54,000 junior doctors - any doctor below consultant level.
A deadline for the British Medical Association (BMA) to accept the deal passed on Wednesday night, which the Government's chief negotiator Sir David Dalton earlier warned would mean talks had reached "the end of the road".
And fears over a mass exodus of the much-needed medics have now been heightened after a poll released on Wednesday revealed as many as 90 per cent of junior doctors would leave the NHS if the contract was imposed.
Mr Hunt revealed 90 per cent of the 100 diferent points of discussion had been agreed with the BMA before Christmas, leaving 10 per cent to be forced on doctors.
He also told the Commons during a statement the negotiating process with the BMA had uncovered some "wider and more deep-seated issues relating to junior doctors' morale".
As a result he announced a Government review by Dame Sue Bailey which will look at what measures can be put in place to remedy the situation.
For more detail Junior Doctors threaten five months of strikes as Jeremy Hunt IMPOSES 'unsafe' contract
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