The Junior Doctors’ dispute 2015/16 brought doctors out on strike during 2016 for the first time in over 45 years. It was about the proposed new Junior Doctors’ contract, which Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt chose to push through when negotiations with the BMA faltered.
The new contract – which seems set to be imposed without agreement – would mean junior doctors (anyone who is not a consultant is regarded as a ‘junior’; this therefore means people in their 30s and 40s with families, not just young doctors in their 20s) having to work longer hours for less pay overall, despite what the government claimed during the dispute.
This resulted in thousands of doctors taking industrial action as a last resort. Although failing to stop the new contract from being imposed, the dispute meant many doctors began to realise the wider implications for the NHS and became determined to fight to save it. A new awareness of privatisation and the need to save the NHS amongst junior doctors is the direct result.
You can reach the Junior Doctors’ Alliance on social media.
All posts relating to the Junior Doctors dispute can be found here.