Pressure group Remedy UK has announced it is to close with immediate effect, just days after calling on BMA members to reject the plans for industrial action over pensions.
The group said it has been ‘unable to sustain the management and leadership that an effective Remedy needs'. It said it had £2,000 left over after paying outstanding legal fees, which it will donate to the Royal Medical Benevolent Fund.
The news came after the group this week called on doctors to vote no on the BMA ballot on industrial action, which began on Monday.
The group said of the plans: ‘It is hard to find anyone who seriously believes that cancelling a few out-patient clinics and some elective operations will cause the government to change its mind over doctors' pensions.
‘Losing a few operating lists might cause some inconvenience to a few Trusts, and a few patients will probably suffer unnecessarily as a consequence, but it doesn't seem likely that this will translate into hard cash.'
Remedy UK was set up in 2006, primarily to publicise concerns about the implementation of medical training reforms.
A statement from the group said it had strived to provide ‘legitimacy and security to passionate medics who wanted to challenge the views of the establishment.'
Matt Jameson-Evans, co-founder of the group, said: ‘We do feel it is much healthier to have more than one voice, but I think the BMA has changed a lot since we started, in many ways positively. Remedy was a bit of a shock for the BMA when we started but in many ways they learnt the value of having Remedy around. I like to think there will be parts of the BMA that have the same sense of regret about our closure that we do.'
