A medic has defended junior doctors amid accusations their industrial action is “selfish”, insisting the new Government offer is the first “worthy” deal in two years of disputes.
She warned while ending strikes would help ease pressure during the super-flu surge, it “won’t magically create beds” in an NHS still treating patients in corridors.
Ministers have put forward a new offer to the British Medical Association that could prevent a five-day walkout scheduled to commence on Wednesday 17 December.
The proposed agreement features a significant expansion of specialist training positions alongside coverage for out-of-pocket costs including examination fees.
TRENDING
Stories
Videos
Your Say
However, Health Secretary Wes Streeting has refused to budge on additional pay increases.
He has pointed to the nearly 30 per cent rise in wages that resident doctors have already received over the past three years as justification for this stance.
The package also contains provisions for emergency legislation that would allow the NHS to give priority to UK-trained doctors when allocating speciality training posts, which doctors typically enter during their third year of training.
Speaking to GB News, Dr Bhasha Mukherjee said: "My thoughts are that this is really great news that the BMA has considered this offer worthy of taking to its members, because that’s something that wasn’t happening until now.
Dr Bhasha Mukherjee warned that while ending strikes would help ease pressure during the super-flu surge, it 'won’t magically create beds'
|GB NEWS
"There was no good offer on the table up to this point, and this is a really positive sign. It means there’s a possibility for things to progress, and a possibility for the strikes to be called off.
"And absolutely, at a time when we’re seeing this super-flu surge, every single doctor being on shift is going to be really useful. But this still doesn’t change the fact that patients are being treated in corridors, or the wider state of the NHS.
"Doctors physically being there won’t magically create beds for patients and we’re still going to have to tackle that as well."
GB News host Charlie Peters said: "You say no good deal has been put forward to junior doctors until now. But a lot of workers around the country who haven’t had pay rises in years, and who are facing the cost of living crisis, will look at the terms of this deal and think junior doctors are actually getting something pretty advantageous.
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS
Junior doctors have a five day walkout scheduled
| PA"They might even think the ongoing battle from junior doctors is bordering on being selfish."
"Okay well, let me put this into context for everyone. At the beginning of the strikes two years ago, doctors were being paid £14 an hour. That was the baseline.
"The very minimum wage for a doctor was £14 an hour. Through strike action and of course, nobody wanted strikes, but the Government only responded to this extreme measure we managed to secure pay restoration to about £18 an hour.
"And to reach full pay restoration, all we’re asking for is £22 an hour for a doctor who is literally saving people’s lives.
"There are cleaners who are being paid more than that and I’m not undermining cleaners at all but it’s about context: the pressure, the dedication, the strain of going through medical school and serving on the front line.
"When super-flu, Covid all of these things hit doctors are the ones facing it head-on. So we’re simply asking for £18 an hour to rise to £22 an hour.
"And the recent strikes haven’t just been about pay. They’ve also been about training spaces. We had 30,000 doctors apply for 10,000 training posts.
"The number of spaces has declined so drastically over the years, and we’ve never seen such a vast number of doctors out of work. That’s what this whole conversation has been about.”
Under the new offer, Labour has committed to creating 4,000 additional speciality posts by 2028, with the first 1,000 becoming available from next year. This represents a doubling of the previously promised increase of 2,000 positions.
Currently, overseas-trained doctors must be assessed on equal terms with their UK counterparts when applying for these roles.
The BMA is now consulting its resident doctor members to determine whether the offer merits calling off the planned industrial action.
Members can participate in an online survey that closes on Monday 15 December, leaving just two days before the strike is set to begin.
Our Standards: The GB News Editorial Charter