NHS England and some NHS trusts are undermining the process for recalling striking junior doctors in unexpected and extreme circumstances, placing the BMA in an “impossible situation,” the union has said.
Junior doctors in England began a six day strike—the longest single walkout in NHS history—at 7 am on Wednesday 3 January.1
When the dispute between the government and junior doctors began last year, the BMA said it had agreed with NHS England a voluntary process for recalling striking junior doctors to work in the event of safety concerns arising from “unexpected and extreme circumstances” unrelated to industrial action. This process is called a derogation.
The BMA said the process had worked well in all previous rounds of strike action. However, during the current round of industrial action NHS England and some trusts had requested derogations without providing the BMA with the information it needed to recall striking doctors, it said. …
