Junior doctors in court in bid to reverse imposition of ‘flawed’ new contract
- Justice for Health say the new contract is ‘unsafe and unsustainable’
- Campaign group set to accuse Jeremy Hunt of misleading Parliament
- Raised more than £150,000 to bring the two-day hearing to High Court
Kate Pickles For Mailonline
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Junior doctors are taking their fight to the High Court today in a bid to block the Government’s decision to introduce a controversial new contract.
Campaign group Justice for Health is accusing the Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt of seeking to impose ‘unsafe and unsustainable’ terms and conditions as part of his plans for seven-day NHS services in England.
Lawyers for the doctors are expected to argue in a two-day hearing in London that Mr Hunt has not only acted unlawfully but ‘misled Parliament’.
The medics contend his decision to impose the contract lacks a sound or rational foundation.
Doctors in the campaign group Justice for Health are taking the dispute to court today
The dispute over the contracts has already led to thousands of operations and appointments being cancelled since strikes started in January.
Until now, the longest strike has only last two days.
But next month, when the new contract is due to be introduced, thousands of junior doctors are planning the first five-day walk-out.
The medics are arguing that, although Mr Hunt is entitled to ‘recommend’ a new contract, he is attempting to go significantly further even though he has no power to decide the terms and conditions under which the NHS and other bodies should employ junior doctors.
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The group’s founding members are all junior doctors – Dr Nadia Masood, Dr Ben White, Dr Fran Silman, Dr Amar Mashru and Dr Marie-Estella McVeigh.
The group raised £151,625 from 5,113 donations from a crowdfunding page to bring a High Court judicial review.
Their solicitor Saimo Chahal, from law firm Bindmans, described them as ‘incredibly brave’ in seeking to hold Mr Hunt to account.
Ms Chahal said: ‘They are fighting not about conditions of employment but about issues which lie at the heart and soul of the NHS.’
Dr Silman said: ‘We have spent the last year trying to explain to Jeremy Hunt why the contract is flawed, and why it is irrational to continue with imposition, given the current staffing and funding crisis in the NHS.
The campaign group raised more than £150,000 through crowdfunding to bring their case to High Court
‘Mr Hunt has ignored doctors’ concerns, and so we are forced to turn to the courts.’
Thousands of members of the public have offered the doctors money via crowdfunding website Crowd Justice to bring their case.
Their dispute with the Government led to the first full walkout strikes of their kind in British history.
Junior doctors rejected the latest contract offer put to a referendum by the British Medical Association (BMA) in June.
The Health Secretary decided to impose the contract, leaving junior doctors complaining that their concerns had been ignored.
Mr Hunt told Parliament that the NHS needed certainty, including in light of the UK’s decision to leave the EU.
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