I WROTE THE OPEN LETTER AND SIGNATORIES ARE BELOW. I WILL ALSO SEND TO LOCAL MPs TOO – ANY QUESTIONS PLEASE CONTACT ME – DR DAVID WRIGLEY (GP, Carnforth and BMA rep) – dgwrigley@doctors.org.uk - MOB 07764673911 70 names in total – gathered in just 3 days ------------------------ As senior doctors who have worked in Morecambe Bay for many years, we write to express our grave concern about the government’s intention to impose an unsafe and unfair contract on our junior colleagues. Junior doctors are not ‘junior’ and are often in their 30s having undergone extensive medical training prior to becoming GPs or hospital consultants. Junior doctors work in every part of a hospital or general practice and they are the backbone of the NHS.
Sadly the government does not seem to recognise this and threatens to impose an unacceptable contract on our junior colleagues. Many hospital doctors will see cuts in their pay and those training for general practice will also be hit. This is not only unjust but disastrous in view of the lack of GPs across the UK.
Many other conditions are being imposed on junior doctors making their contract unsafe and unfair. It will be most damaging for those doctors who are working part time, those on maternity leave and doctors undertaking important medical research. Hospital doctors working in specialties like Accident and Emergency, a specialty that already has difficulty recruiting trainees, will also be particularly badly affected.
Too many junior doctors are already leaving the UK because of government policies towards the NHS and this imposed contract will accelerate the exodus.
We support junior doctors fully in their fight to retain safe working conditions and a fair contract. Tired doctors make mistakes.
Local patients need to lobby their MPs and show support for their doctors and the NHS. Everyone will need the local NHS one day.
The unprecedented number of doctors who voted for strike action show how angry our colleagues are and we stand with them as one profession to seek a safe and fair contract and to protect the NHS. We call upon the government to accept the BMAs proposal to work with the arbitration service ACAS to solve this dispute for the good of our patients and the good of the NHS.
Dr D Wrigley, GP, Carnforth, Lancashire
Mr B Rhodes, Consultant Trauma and Orthopaedic Surgeon
Mr T Raymond, Consultant General and Colorectal Surgeon
Dr D McGowan, Consultant Physician
Dr M Bukhari, Consultant Rheumatologist
Mr T Millar, Consultant Trauma and Orthopaedic Surgeon
Dr J Barker, Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Furness General Hospital
Mr M Shams, General Surgery
Mrs E Davies, Consultant General and Colorectal Surgeon, Lancaster
Dr S Kolpattil, Consultant Radiologist
Dr B Saha, Consultant Paediatrician, FGH
Dr J Keating, Consultant Gastroenterologist
Dr M Entwistle, Consultant Anaesthetist, RLI
Dr I Parkinson, Consultant Anaesthetist
Dr D Walmsley, Consultant Endocrinologist
Dr T Oldham, Consultant Anaesthetist
Dr D Fyfe, Consultant in Medical Oncology
Dr M Saqib, Associate Specialist in Urology
Dr A Knox, GP, Ash Trees Surgery, Carnforth
Dr B Wilson, Consultant Paediatrician, RLI
Dr M Pasztor, Consultant Microbiologist
Dr M Brown, Consultant Histopathologist
Mr S Sinha, Consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist
Mr R Parmeshwar, Consultant Breast and Oncoplastic Surgeo
n Mr A Jain, Consultant Urological Surgeo
n Dr A Szymczakowski Consultant Anaesthetist
Dr S Harding, Consultant Anaesthetist
Dr M S Bhuiyan, Consultant Anaesthetist, FGH
Dr B Page, Associate Specialist Anaesthesia and Intensive Care Medicine
Dr L Radhakrishnan, Consultant Anaesthetist
Dr R Datta, Associate specialist, Emergency Medicine
Dr B Patel, Consultant Interventional Cardiologist
Dr D Roche, Emergency Medicine, FGH
Dr A Smith, Consultant Anaesthetist, RLI
Dr L Braddock, GP, Rosebank Surgery, Lancaster
Dr R Keith, GP, Rosebank Surgery, Lancaster
Dr K Boothroyd, Consultant Anaesthetist
Dr M Kumar, Consultant Anaesthetist
Dr K Sidhu, GP, Queen Sq Surgery, Lancaster
D R Carruthers, GP, Rosebank Surgery, Lancaster
Dr J Bass, GP, Rosebank Surgery, Lancaster
Ms S Ahmed, Consultant ENT Surgeon, RLI
Dr C Rimmer, Consultant Anaesthestist
Dr M Woodbridge, GP, Ash Trees Surgery, Carnforth
Dr E Palkonyai, Consultant Rheumatologist, RLI
Dr M Tautz, Consultant in Pain Management
Dr L Kingston, GP, Owen Rd Surgery, Lancaster
Dr F Laing, GP, Garstang
Dr D Cheung, GP, Ash Trees Surgery, Carnforth
Dr S Fraser, GP, Coastal Medical Group, Morecambe
Dr M Peat, GP, Coastal Medical Group, Morecambe
Dr H Thomas, GP, Ash Trees Surgery, Carnforth
Dr C Kerr, Consultant Anaesthetist, FGH
Dr G Jifon, Consultant Respiratory Physician
Dr A Gallagher, GP, Rosebank Surgery, Lancaster
Mr S Morgan, Consultant Ophthalmologist, WGH
Dr A Baldwin, Consultant Anaesthetist
Mr S Garg, Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon
Mr A Kochar, Ophthalmic surgeon
Mr M Singhai, Consultant Trauma and Orthopaedic Surgeon
Dr M Soole, GP, Queen Sq Surgery, Lancaster
Dr S Wetherell, GP, Queen Sq Surgery, Lancaster
Dr G Mechie, GP, Owen Rd Surgery, Lancaster
Dr A Partington, GP, Owen Rd Surgery, Lancaster
Mr S Radcliffe, Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon
Ms J Alcide, Consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist
Mr S Gandavaram, Consultant Orthopaedic surgeon
Mr R Sinha, Consultant Orthopaedic surgeon
Dr M Formosa, Consultant Paediatrician
Dr M Baldam, Consultant Anaesthetist
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