Hunt provides proof that his junior doctors’ contract is based on ignorance
![Junior doctors protest outside a screening of the film 28 Days Later in London [Image: Joe Pepler/REX/Shutterstock].](https://voxpoliticalonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/160424juniordoctorsrage.png)
Junior doctors protest outside a screening of the film 28 Days Later in London [Image: Joe Pepler/REX/Shutterstock].
Firstly, the call for him to pilot his sexist and stupid junior doctors’ contract isn’t a “Labour ‘plan'” – it’s a cross-party call from MPs including fellow Conservative Dr Dan Poulter. Nice one, Jermy – you’ve split your own party!
Second, staging implementation is different from running a pilot programme. In a pilot scheme, the general status quo doesn’t change; in a staged implementation, the whole way of doing things is altered to accommodate new conditions when they come into practice.
Finally – and possibly most importantly – there is no “weekend effect”!
More people die on a Wednesday than on any single day over the weekend. Hunt had to cobble together figures for Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays and Mondays before he had enough to suggest otherwise – and here in the UK, we don’t work a three-day week (except under former Tory prime minister Edward Heath).
Jeremy Hunt has dismissed as “opportunism” the Labour-brokered proposal to dissuade junior doctors from the first all-out strike in NHS history.
A cross-party group of MPs urged the health secretary to limit the new junior doctors’ contract to a pilot scheme before introducing it across England.
Hunt, however, responded to the move on Sunday morning by describing it as opportunism. Writing on Twitter, the health secretary said: “Labour ‘plan’ is opportunism – only 11% of junior docs go on to new contracts in August. We’re staging implementation to ensure it works as intended. Any further delay just means we will take longer to eliminate weekend effect.”
Hunt has said he will impose the contested contract, whether or not it has BMA support.
Alexander, the Conservatives’ Dr Dan Poulter, the Lib Dems’ Norman Lamb and the SNP’s Dr Philippa Whitford told Hunt in a letter that they wanted an independent evaluation of the so-called “weekend effect”, in which mortality rates are higher for patients admitted outside the standard working week.
Source: Jeremy Hunt: MPs’ plan to avert junior doctors’ strike is opportunism | Society | The Guardian
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I agree. The Huffington Post ran an article claiming that the Labour Party was behind the call for a pilot scheme when it was mostly Tory MP’s on the cross-party committee who were proposing it. Why? In my opinion, because they can see Hunt slipping slowly towards the bilges of political life and they( for some reason which I fail to understand) want to save him from himself!
I doubt if it is to save Hunt from himself. More to save themselves and their seats from the fallout.
Whether they decide to stay in the NHS or not, there will be a huge raft of unfair dismissal claims if the new contract is ‘imposed. This will cost the country £millions. Hunt is stupider than a very thick carpet rug!
Intransigent Jeremy *unt is the personification of the ruthless and warped ideology of Tory megalomaniacs.
The Hunt will eventually become a useful sacrificial lamb at some point as no one that stupid and thick can possibly survive such a long charmed life….even the Cons will finally wake up to the fact that he is spoilt goods.
Hunts focuses should surely be to identify why the ‘weekend effect’ occurs if its likely to be reduced by his plans.
seems these are either overlooked or he is protecting cronies – Trust managers – who are individually responsible due to staffing shortages.
A recent endeavour to recruit another PR official to ‘ Clarify his message verges on idiocy of the highest degree.
Tax payers object to this as there are many quangos headed by other managers who have failed to stop the public supporting the NHS remaining in the public sector.
Hunt and cronies must have vested interests in ignoring the public message and wasting taxpayers money to take action confined to the tories determination to privatise health and care services.
He’s so bloody useless, it’s mind boggling, how is he still in a job?!
Deliberately misrepresenting facts by juggling them is the same as lying your socks off!
No doubt Hunt sees this as being conservative with the truth?