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Weston General Hospital accused of ‘abusing’ strike deal to get junior doctors back to work
The British Medical Association has accused Weston General Hospital of misleading junior doctors over the level of staffing cover during a four-day walkout that began on Tuesday.
The BMA initially agreed to allow seven doctors to return to work for part of the strike to ensure there were sufficient staff at both the emergency department and acute medicine at Weston General Hospital.
A tweet from the union on Tuesday said: “Protecting patient safety during strikes has always been a priority to the BMA.
is needed now More than ever
“However, poor planning by local management has left the emergency department and acute medicine at Weston General Hospital exposed.”
“As a result, the BMA has agreed that a total of 7 junior doctors can be asked to volunteer to return to work today and tomorrow.”
The BMA later revoked this exemption (known as a derogation), however, claiming local management had misled junior doctors over the level of staffing cover at the hospital.
The union accused the hospital of “abusing” the exemption and announced it would be appealing to NHS England to investigate the incident further.
A statement from the BMA posted on Twitter on Wednesday said: “It has become apparent that both the BMA and NHS England were misled over the level of staffing cover.
“Either local management were unaware they had sufficient senior cover, or they deliberately misled us.
“We will be asking NHSE to explore any potential probity issues. We granted a derogation in good faith and it is incredibly disappointing to see this abused in this way.
“We are grateful to our consultant and SAS colleagues for their hard work providing cover during the strikes.”
In a statement, the chief executive of University Hospitals Bristol & Weston NHS Foundation Trust, professor Eugine Yafele, said that “the safety of patients is our top priority”.
Yafele said: “When applying for the derogation we provided information requested by the BMA that accurately reflected our concerns about risk to patient safety, during what is a fast-moving situation. These concerns were supported by consultants providing cover.
“As part of our established operational planning for periods of industrial action we’ve been exploring all avenues for ensuring sufficient cover for key services over the course of the week, as well as each day responding to unplanned absences.
“In doing so, we are very grateful to colleagues who have stepped in to provide medical cover, which has made the difference in ensuring that we have sufficient staffing without ultimately having had to draw on the derogations.”
Main photo: Google
Read next:
- Bristol junior doctors begin four-day strike over pay
- Ambulance workers in Bristol join national day of strikes
- NHS England to consider case for new A&E site
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