A NEW contract will be imposed on junior doctors after negotiations with the British Medical Association failed, Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt said.

The Health Secretary said the process had created "considerable dismay" among junior doctors but he felt that given time, the contract would be accepted as a good thing.

In a statement to the Commons he said no health secretary could ignore the fact that standards in NHS hospitals are "too low" at weekends and more patients die than during the week.

It is unclear whether the British Medical Association (BMA) will now stage further strikes in protest at the new contract.

Yesterday, junior doctors protested outside both Royal Blackburn and Burnley General hospitals in the second 24-hour strike over pay and conditions.

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The strike came after talks with the Department of Health and the British Medical Association failed to reach agreement.

A proposal to increase the basic pay for doctors by 11 per cent, in return for Saturday not to be treated as a normal working day was rejected during a debate in the House of Commons on Tuesday and Secretary of State for Health, Jeremy Hunt, was one of the ministers who blocked the offer.

The junior doctors stood on the picket line and used banners and posters to gain public attention.

They held signs and placards up to encourage people to ‘honk their horn if they love the NHS.’

Jennifer Redfern, 25, junior doctor and BMA representative for East Lancashire Hospital Trust, said: “We need the government to consider how this will affect us. 

“We work long and unsociable hours and this is unsafe for patients. 

“I don’t think Jeremy Hunt has taken in our points and it seems that they want to make the NHS more privatised.

"Nobody wants a tired doctor to treat them and this is our fundamental point, that is what our slogan ‘not safe, not fair’ means.”

Rebecca Kuruvilla, 24, a junior doctor at Royal Blackburn, said: “What we want to make clear is that this is not a walk-out.
“There are still hard working staff in the hospital treating patients and the A and E is open. Shifts have been covered and we have received a huge amount of support from staff, patients and the public and we want to thank them.”

Along with junior doctors, other doctors were also present at the picket line and showed their support against MPs and ministers.

Edward Gee, 32, an orthopaedic registrar, said: “If the decision does go through, I feel that more and more people will drop out of the profession.”