Andrea has expressed her disappointment that junior doctors have voted for strike action. She says that the current plans risk patient safety, and that both sides should work to get back to the negotiating table.
Andrea said:
"This is clearly an emphatic result for the British Medical Association that will seriously threaten the safety of patients.
"It is disappointing that junior doctors have decided to take this action despite many of the improvements the new contracts would have brought, including a 10% rise in basic pay and a cap on the total number of hours worked a week.
"Doctors have a duty to put the patient first, and a full strike will see them cast this duty aside in favour of political point-scoring. Both sides should return to the negotiating table, recognise the strength of feeling within the profession, and work towards a deal that is right for doctors, patients and the NHS.
"The old contracts weren’t working and had major flaws that put patient safety at risk. A strike that puts patients at further risk should never be the answer, and until the BMA stops sabre rattling and sits down with the Government we will never come to a measured solution that works for all."
Andrea is the Chair of the All Party Group on Patient Safety and a Member of the Health Select Committee.