The government has withdrawn an offer of creating 1,000 more doctor training posts in England after the British Medical Association (BMA) refused to call off a six-day strike next week. The extra posts were part of a wider package of measures put forward by ministers earlier this year to resolve the long-running dispute with resident doctors.
It is the view of the BMA that doctors working in the NHS can no longer provide the tacit endorsement that using a product implies and must immediately take steps to explore refusing any non-direct care usage of Palantir's Federated Data Platform, with a view to moving away from the platform entirely in time, when a suitable alternative can be put in place.
The British Medical Association is facing a strike over pay by its own clerical staff, prompting calls of hypocrisy as resident NHS doctors in England launch five days of strike action with the union's backing. Talks between the BMA and the GMB union failed to come to a resolution on Tuesday, raising the prospect of a strike by clerical and administrative staff at the health union in the new year, sources said.
"The result of today's ballot makes it clear that the government will now need to step up to the plate. "Doctors have [today] spoken clearly: they won't accept that they face a career of insecurity at a time when the demand for doctors is huge. Yet successive governments have been unable to embrace the changes both doctors and patients are crying out for. "We do not want to have to strike, but we will if we are left with no choice. The government has the power to end both of these disputes now: it must use this opportunity to make the changes that are desperately needed."
