Conciliation service Acas has offered to help resolve the deadlock in the ongoing resident doctors’ strike in England.
The Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service said it is willing to become involved in efforts to find a settlement to the long-running dispute, as resident doctors take industrial action for the 14th time in protest over pay and employment conditions.
The offer follows recent calls by NHS leaders and the Patients Association for the government and the British Medical Association to agree to independent mediation to help end the dispute.
According to the body’s director of dispute resolution, Kevin Rowan, he said: “Acas is in contact with all the parties involved in the resident doctors’ dispute”.
However, Acas after Rowan’s statement led to speculation that it was already involved in trying to broker a deal, quickly clarified its position.
He amended his comments to emphasize that the independent body had simply offered its services to the government and the doctors’ union.
“We have a team of experts who are well-prepared and ready to help with the resident doctors’ dispute,” he said.
Rowan revealed that “Acas has decades of experience in resolving disputes and our collective conciliation service is impartial, free and independent.
“It is also voluntary, which means we can only hold formal conciliation talks if all the parties in dispute agree to use Acas.”
Read the related story on New Daily Prime: NHS leaders urge mediation as resident doctors begin five-day strike
The chief executive of the Patients Association, Rachel Power, urged both sides to accept Acas’s offer and begin talks as soon as possible.
She said the development was welcomed, noting that Acas was engaging with both the British Medical Association and the government in an effort to resolve the dispute.
According to her, she noted that: “This dispute has dragged on too long, with repeated strikes proving that direct negotiations alone cannot resolve it. Something has to move.
She added: “Acas has confirmed they are ready and willing to help, but they can only act when both parties agree to take part. We call on the BMA and government to make that agreement now.”
Meanwhile, the involvement of Acas is uncertain, this is because the Department of Health and Social Care mentioned it had not received any proposal from Acas to act as an arbitrator, contradicting Rowan’s initial statement.
“There has been no offer from Acas regarding the BMA’s dispute with government. All our focus is on mitigating the impact of strike action on patients and staff,” a spokesperson said.
The chair of its resident doctors committee, Dr Jack Fletcher tweeted that: “[Neither] I, nor any of the resident doctor negotiating team, have spoken to Acas.
“We are aware of mediation services like Acas but at this stage we do not believe mediation is a route we need to consider.”
The legal framework allowing resident doctors in England to take industrial action is due to expire on 6 January.
The British Medical Association (BMA) has opened a new ballot of its 55,000 resident doctor members which, if successful, would permit a further six months of strike action, likely to begin in February or March.
Thousands of resident doctors, previously known as junior doctors, began their latest strike at 7am on Wednesday and is scheduled to continue until 7am on Monday next week.
Addressing the House of Commons during prime minister’s questions, Prime Minister Keir Starmer criticised the strike, describing it as dangerous and irresponsible at a time when the NHS is under pressure from a severe flu season that has led to unusually high hospital admissions.
The chair of the resident doctors committee said doctors felt the need to withdraw their labour because ministers had failed to adequately address their demands on pay and the availability of training places.
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