Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent assessment his Department has made of the state of morale among junior doctors.

The most recent assessment of the state of morale among junior doctors was from engagement scores in the 2015 NHS Staff Survey published in February which showed a score for junior doctors of 3.85/5, up from 3.81/5 the previous year. On 11 February my Rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State announced that a new national juniors’ contract will be introduced. He also announced a review into some wider and more deep-seated issues relating to junior doctors’ morale, wellbeing and quality of life, which will be led by Professor Dame Sue Bailey, the President of the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges.

The Government and junior doctors want to do the same thing by improving patient care at weekends. A contract that is safer for patients as well as fair and reasonable for junior doctors is a step towards that.