Heidi Alexander – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Heidi Alexander on 2016-02-22.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what risk assessment was carried out on his policy to impose a new contract on junior doctors.

Ben Gummer

Sir David Dalton, who led recent negotiations on behalf of the National Health Service, advised my Rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health that the offer made to the British Medical Association (BMA) was developed with the input of a senior reference group of NHS leaders and shared with a wider group of senior NHS leaders, all of whom agreed it to be fair and reasonable for doctors in training and for the service. In negotiations, agreement had been secured with the BMA on approximately 90% of the issues discussed. Sir David’s letter advised the government “to do whatever it deems necessary to end uncertainty for the service and to make sure that a new contract is in place which is as close as possible to the final position put forward to the BMA”.