I've never really understood this line. I honestly believe that the junior doctor grassroots are now much more militant and furious than the BMA. If anything the BMA is restraining the membership and they're getting a lot of flack in the background for doing so.

I don't see the problem with this statement either. There are enough consultants to provide urgent care (for new emergency patients and sick inpatients) but not to do that *and* their elective commitments. They will have to cancel elective operations, procedure lists, and clinics during the strike so that consultants can staff the urgent care services.

Putting aside differences about how best to deliver healthcare or the current dispute with the BMA, we really need to stop embarrassing ourselves by talking with such certainty about issues that we understand so poorly. The idea that some flexible pool of physician assistant reservists might be called upon to leave their day jobs and perform appendectomies, insert central lines, start dialysis, run cardiac arrest calls, etc is frankly laughable. I really hope that Jeremy Hunt is being advised by more sensible heads.

This whole dispute is extremely sad. The Conservative Party ought to be there for intelligent and hard working individuals that have dedicated themselves to public service. They should be our core constituency. Instead, this government has driven them to despair and fury.

Both sides have overplayed the "patient safety" card when this is clearly about cutting costs (for the government) and protecting T&Cs (for the BMA). However, both Jeremy Hunt and Ben Gummer have been extremely economical with the truth and relied on the complex nature of doctor remuneration to pull the wool over everyone's eyes.

Regardless of whether or not he still thinks he was "right", Jeremy should have stepped aside and let another figurehead try to broker a compromise in his place. David Cameron should have insisted as much. None of us have any idea where this is going to end up but its unlikely that either patients or tax payers are going to be better off.

This whole dispute is extremely sad. The Conservative Party ought to be there for intelligent and hard working individuals that have dedicated themselves to public service. They should be our core constituency. Instead, this government has driven them to despair and fury.

Both sides have overplayed the "patient safety" card when this is clearly about cutting costs (for the government) and protecting T&Cs (for the BMA). However, both Jeremy Hunt and Ben Gummer have been extremely economical with the truth and relied on the complex nature of doctor remuneration to pull the wool over everyone's eyes.

Regardless of whether or not he still thinks he was "right", Jeremy should have stepped aside and let another figurehead try to broker a compromise in his place. David Cameron should have insisted as much. None of us have any idea where this is going to end up but its unlikely that either patients or tax payers are going to be better off.