The ICS and PICS follow up on the Junior doctor Industrial action

Further planned industrial action among junior doctors including the full withdrawal of labour during day-time hours on the 26th and 27th of April has been announced. This reflects junior doctors' stark disappointment with the Government's plan to impose a new contract after failure to reach a negotiated agreement.

Contract imposition has left many junior doctors lacking confidence in the Government, and feeling undervalued and undermined. The negative effect on morale is likely to have a serious impact on the recruitment and retention of junior doctors, especially to key high-intensity hospital specialties such as intensive care medicine (see FICM statement released today). As essential members of our workforce, junior doctors are integral in delivering safe round-the-clock care for critically ill patients and their families.

Furthermore, the government’s equality analysis which stated that the contract may disadvantage women but that ‘any indirect adverse effect on women is a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim’, is also very concerning. A contract that disadvantages women is likely to impede efforts to address the current gender imbalance in intensive care medicine and make recruitment and retention of female junior doctors to our specialty more challenging.

The Intensive Care Society and the Paediatric Intensive Care Society are duly concerned about the immediate and longer-term impact that the contract imposition may have on recruitment to intensive care, service provision and ultimately, patient care. As such, we are committed to ensuring that members of our specialty know they are valued and supported.