Royal Stoke boss urges negotiation and compromise to end doctor strikes
UHNM Chief Exec Tracy Bullock says the BMA should rethink its pay offer
On the final full day of junior doctors returning to picket lines in a dispute over pay the boss of Staffordshire's main hospital trust is issuing a plea for all to get around the table and compromise.
"Don't ask me to put a finger on what I think a reasonable ask would be. But I think the starting point should not be 35%" said Tracy Bullock, chief executive of UHNM Trust, which runs the Royal Stoke and Stafford's County Hospital.
"These are people who are dealing with patients and patients lives and my belief is they should be appropriately recompensed for that."
It comes as around 47,000 junior doctors stage a fourth day of strike action in England with the union which represents them, the BMA, demanding pay restoration including a 35% rise.
The Health Secretary Steve Barclay has called the offer unreasonable and said his door would be "open" - as long as the BMA contacts him directly and offers to bring industrial action to a standstill in the interim.
"Do I think that 35% is a reasonable ask? I'm not sure I do" - Tracy
"It depends what you mean by unreasonable." added Tracy Bullock.
"I very much support people's right to strike. I do think that the pay for staff in the NHS should be reviewed.
"This strike action should not be allowed to continue going forward and my ultimate desire is for the government and the BMA to get around the table as soon as possible and get down to some real proper negotiating. That would be my plea to both parties really, is to get around the table and then start to negotiate. And bring this to a resolution."
Conciliation service Acas are also reportedly "well prepared and ready to help" in facilitating mediation in a bid to end the bitter pay dispute.
The Department of Health and Social Care said it remains open to considering a role for Acas but reiterated talks cannot take place until junior doctors drop their demand for a 35% pay increase and end the strike.
Chairman of the BMA council, Professor Philip Banfield, said: "In the face of a constant refusal from the Health Secretary to agree to further talks and put forward a credible offer which could bring an end to the dispute, we believe that working with Acas provides the most realistic chance of a successful outcome to the negotiations."
"The BMA has consistently sought to negotiate with the Government" - BMA
Philip added: "It takes both sides of a dispute to want to find a solution, and we urge the Health Secretary to show the same willingness that we have and make himself available and open to talks facilitated by Acas."
The BMA has claimed junior doctors in England have seen a 26% real-terms pay cut since 2008/09 because pay rises have been below inflation.
BMA officials said the pay issue is making it harder to recruit and retain junior doctors, with members previously walking out for three days in March.
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