A JUNIOR doctor has spoken of her relief after plans for a strike were called off at the last minute following an agreement between medics and the Government.

An eleventh hour agreement between the Government, the British Medical Association and the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS) averted three planned strikes.

The row blew up over weekend working contracts of 28,000 doctors.

Dr Sheneen Meghji, a junior doctor at Southend and Chelmsford hospital and local representative of the BMA had joined colleagues making posters and banners ready for the first ever doctors strike.

They planned to man the picket line but were relieved that was no longer necessary.

Speaking for approximately 200 junior doctors at Southend Dr Meghji said: “I think we are all very relieved the strike was called off but upset that it took this long to make a decision. We hope we don’t need to strike.”

Much of the planned action was not just about manning picket lines but about raising awareness with the public on what their fight with the Government had been about.

Meet-the-doctor events were planned with doctors giving out leaflets and balloons to outline the facts behind their struggle and to dispel some myths.

Dr Meghji, 32, a psychology graduate who is in her fifth year of training, hopes to become an ear, nose and throat consultant.

She said: “A popular misconception is that junior doctors are just those in their first or second year but the term applies to all doctors who are not consultants or associate specialists. Some junior doctors have up to 15 years’ experience.”

Unlike the first action which would have provided emergency cover, a second strike planned for next week would have involved a full walkout but Dr Meghji said support from other hospital staff was so great patients would have been unlikely to suffer.

She said: “We had so much support from porters, nurses and health care assistants who are all wearing our badges.

“All the consultants I have spoken to supported the junior doctors decision to strike. They were all behind us.”

Eleventh hour agreement

THE decision to call off the strikes came too late for thousands of patients whose operations and appointments had already been cancelled.

A snapshot survey of almost 20 NHS trusts revealed around 600 operations and procedures planned for Tuesday were cancelled, alongside around 3,500 outpatient appointments. This poll represents less than a fifth of the trusts across England.

A temporary agreement was reached on Monday night between government officials, the British Medical Association (BMA) and NHS Employers, which means three days of strikes planned for December will now no longer go ahead.

While fresh talks are under way, the Government has agreed to suspend its threat to impose a new contract on doctors.

However, it will retain the right to impose it if a final settlement with the BMA cannot be reached.

The BMA also maintains the right to hold its strikes before a deadline of January 13 if talks do break down.

A statement from all parties said: "We intend to reach a collaborative agreement, working in partnership to produce a new contract for junior doctors, recognising their central role in patient care and the future of the NHS.

"All parties are committed to reaching an agreement that improves safety for patients and doctors and therefore NHS Employers have agreed to extend the time-frame for the BMA to commence any industrial action by four weeks to January 13 2016 at 1700, to allow negotiations to progress.

"Within that timetable, the BMA agrees to temporarily suspend its proposed strike action and the Department of Health agrees similarly to temporarily suspend implementation of a contract without agreement.

"All parties acknowledge that they share responsibility for the safety of patients and junior doctors, which must be paramount."

Southend Hospital had to cancel 25 elective operations and 100 outpatients appointments and these will have to be rearranged.

Jon Findlay, chief operating officer at Southend University Hospital said ”We are pleased to hear about the positive turn in the on-going negotiations, and that the industrial action has been averted. “Unfortunately we will not be able to reschedule the elective surgeries and outpatient appointments that we had to cancel in advance of the proposed action and we apologise for this unavoidable impact.”

What's behind the doctor's strike:

THE basis for fresh negotiations is the Government's offer from early November, including an 11 per cent rise in basic pay for junior doctors.

This is offset by plans to cut the number of hours on a weekend that junior doctors can claim extra pay for "unsocial" hours.

Currently, 7pm to 7am Monday to Friday and the whole of Saturday and Sunday attract a premium rate of pay.

Under the revised plans, a higher rate would run from 10pm to 7am Monday to Friday, and from 7pm on Saturday evenings - a concession on the previous 10pm.

Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt has argued that, under the new deal, just 1% of doctors would lose pay and those would be limited to doctors working too many hours already.

The BMA has said the increase in basic pay is misleading due to the changes to pay for unsocial hours. It also has other concerns over flexible pay plans for some specialities.

Mr Hunt told MPs that NHS England had estimated that - across all three days of planned action - up to 20,000 patients would have operations cancelled, including around 1,500 cataract operations, 900 skin lesion removals, 630 hip and knee operations, 400 spine operations, 250 gall bladder removals and nearly 300 tonsil and grommets operations.