BMA Accommodation campaign - No room for more student debt

[Touche]

From: http://www.bma.org.uk/ap.nsf/Content...dationcampaign

Background and history
In July 2007, the requirement for pre-registration doctors to be resident at the hospital was removed from the Medical Act 1983. This means that there is no longer a statutory requirement for pre-registration doctors (first year foundation house officers (FHO1s) to be resident, which in turn means that hospital accommodation no longer needs to be provided without charge to FHO1s. In August 2007 NHS Employers wrote to trusts to encourage them to continue to provide free accommodation to FHO1s for 2007/08. However, from August 2008 most trusts will not provide accommodation for these doctors without charge.

Read more information on the background of this issue

What are we doing about it?
We have written to the NHS Employers asking them to negotiate with us about this but we have unfortunately had no positive response to date. We are pressing the NHSE and we will also be writing to Ministers about this issue.

We have also co-ordinated a series of protests against the loss of free accommodation.

Aims
The aim of the protests is to:

• raise awareness about the issue and about the concerns of students and junior doctors
• encourage the NHS Employers to negotiate with the BMA about the loss of accommodation

What do we want?

• Free accommodation to be reinstated for those who want and need it, or financial recompense for junior doctors for the loss of free accommodation.
• Urgent and meaningful negotiations with NHS Employers to begin.

Schedule from 19 May:
The protests, led by medical students, will be taking place in the following areas:

Medical school
Protest date and time Location MSC reps’ contact details

Peninsula
Thursday 22 May, 12pm to 2pm Plymouth (Derriford hospital), Truro (Treliske hospital) and Exeter (Royal Devon and Exeter) Tim Griffiths
msc.rep.peninsula@bma.org.uk

Liverpool
Friday 23 May, 12pm to 1pm Royal Liverpool Hospital Andrew Collier
msc.rep.liverpool@bma.org.uk

Newcastle
Friday 23 May, 1.30pm to 2pm Royal Victoria Infirmary Amy Maguire
msc.rep.newcastle@bma.org.uk

Cardiff
Tuesday 27 May, 11am to1pm
University Hospital of Wales Elliot King
msc.rep.cardiff@bma.org.uk

Glasgow
Wednesday 28 May, 12pm to 1pm Western Infirmary Claire Wilson
msc.rep.glasgow@bma.org.uk

Sheffield
Thursday 29 May, 11.30am to 2.30pm TBC Charlotte Rudd
isc.chair.sheffield@bma.org.uk

Bristol
Thursday 29 May, 5pm to 6pm
Bristol Royal Infirmary
Lucy Joslin
msc.rep.bristol@bma.org.uk

London
TBC TBC Victoria Nowak
msc.rep.rfucms@bma.org.uk

Being a terms and conditions issue, this has the potential to precipitate industrial action. Hope you're all turning up as its your future on the line.

[Gizmo says -]

i will def go to the london one, although i am just a li'l macca.

[Michael]

What's going to happen. Press will cover it briefly then blast us for being paid too much anyway, net result will be nothing will change.

[Touche]

Maybe... maybe not.

But nothing will change for sure if everyone just sits at home and ignores it.

[Michael]

But the real fact is the BMA sat back and let this happen, they knew this since last year when accommodation was withdrawn. They even knew this year when the DDRB report was being held back due to bad news and now they wait till were about to sign contracts before kicking up a stink? were due to start in about 9 weeks, due you honestly think the government is going to U-turn over this or increase our pay? dreamland. My trust has already sent out accomodation stuff wanting £360 a month! whereas some people staying in this deanery are only being charged £180!

[Touche]

It might be unlikely, but theres not much else you or I can do.

I resigned my BMA membership last year over MTAS, and have only just rejoined as I wanted to do what i could to stop new doctors being screwed.

I couldn't look my new F1 in the eye come August if I hadn't done what little I could.

[piccles]

Originally Posted by Michael

But the real fact is the BMA sat back and let this happen, they knew this since last year when accommodation was withdrawn. They even knew this year when the DDRB report was being held back due to bad news and now they wait till were about to sign contracts before kicking up a stink? were due to start in about 9 weeks, due you honestly think the government is going to U-turn over this or increase our pay? dreamland. My trust has already sent out accomodation stuff wanting £360 a month! whereas some people staying in this deanery are only being charged £180!

Well I contacted my hospital and they want to charge £485 per month. Furthermore I asked why so much and they used the excuss that they had to conform to the BMAs rules on free accommodation which is why it is costing so much - I looked up their internet site and it said £360 I then re-phoned to ask why the difference and they said that we were doctors and could afford to pay more lol (with a basic wage of 21000).

I phoned the BMA - they must be the most useless union on the planet - I honestly dont think they care about junior doctors

[Will Watson]

Originally Posted by Michael

But the real fact is the BMA sat back and let this happen, they knew this since last year when accommodation was withdrawn. They even knew this year when the DDRB report was being held back due to bad news and now they wait till were about to sign contracts before kicking up a stink? were due to start in about 9 weeks, due you honestly think the government is going to U-turn over this or increase our pay? dreamland. My trust has already sent out accomodation stuff wanting £360 a month! whereas some people staying in this deanery are only being charged £180!

People seem to have this wierd preconception that unless BMA reps are starting fires in the streets or on the 9 o'clock news that the BMA is doing nothing. And then when they are people complain that it's too little too late!

Accomodation was withdrawn at the start of this year when the medical act was amended (without consultation and against prior negotiation). NHS Employers refused to negotiate with the BMA, so their only option was to make a submission to the DDRB requesting an uplift in pay.
No-one knew what the DDRB report was going to contain before it came out, but nontheless there was already a 'plan B' - the issue was debated at the medical students annual conference, which is where the ideas of co-ordinated national protests and 'sleep in tent' protests came up in the first place.

Is it working? Well, yes. Last time I looked over 60 MPs had signed an Early Day motion in parliament demanding that NHS employers re-negotiate with the BMA. The protests so far have recieved masses of press coverage and MPs have been simply flooded with letters from their constituents.

The BMA knows they cocked up over MTAS and they're really straightened their act out this year - please get your facts straight before indulging in armchair criticism, because there's one thing that's certain - if the government wants to undermine doctors as a profession, taking apart the trade unions is by far the easiest way.

(oh and just to add - Remedy UK haven't done anything whatsoever on this issue!)

[piccles]

You say the BMA is working really hard for us, I disagree - it is only now a couple of months near to the deadline for starting work that they have started to raise a fuss about accommodation. I picked up a response written to the times newspaper concerning the debate surrounding the BMAs response to this disaster:


A recent response from Alan Johnson MP to Stephen O'Brien MP reads, in part:

"...the Department consulted extensively on the changes to the Medical Act between 1 October 2005 and 31 January 2006. The Consultation Document contained a draft of the Order which contained the repeal of Sections 10-13 and their replacement by section 10A which removed the requirement for doctors to be present on site. THE BMA RESPONDED TO THAT CONSULTATION AND DID NOT RAISE ANY OBJECTION TO THE REMOVAL OF THE REQUIREMENT FOR RESIDENCY. There was further opportunity for comment and debate on these changes when the legislation was considered by both Houses of Parliament last summer and no objections were raised"

[Will Watson]

That was because the changes the BMA had negoitated were that these elements would be moved into the terms and conditions of the junior doctor contract.

To quote the Junior Negotiating Committee (Juniors) minutes:

“DH [the Department of Health] stated that following the introduction of Modernising Medical Careers and foundation programmes the requirement in Medical Act on trusts to provide free accommodation to PRHOs would be out-dated. They recommended that the requirement for free accommodation for doctors in their first year after graduating from medical school and prior to registration be removed from the Medical Act and be placed in Terms and Conditions of Service (TCS).” (JNC(J) 2004 a)

You believe the Labour government? Yeesh.