Junior doctors may not need to travel as far Australia to pursue their careers after the Isle of Man confirmed it would not be making any changes to their contract.
In a statement, the island’s Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) said junior doctors there ‘will not see changes to their contracts of employment’ because the current contract arrangements ‘are fair’.
Minister for health and social care Howard Quayle said the Government had to ‘strike a delicate balance’ to make sure that ‘rates of pay and benefits represent value for money for the taxpayer whilst enabling us to attract and retain talented health and social care professionals’ and that ‘our current arrangements have that balance right’.
Mr Quayle added: ‘The Island has a strong tradition of working in partnership with our staff and their representatives. Junior doctors from any part of the UK interested in working in the Isle of Man will find a very warm welcome here.’
Junior doctors play a significant role in the delivery of care on the Island both at Noble’s Hospital and in GP practices, the statement added, and the Island’s Core Medical Training programme was recently rated ‘in the top 25% of programmes in the UK’.
It comes after the devolved Governments in Scotland and Wales also dismissed the UK Government’s decision to impose contract changes.
BMA representative Dr Prakash Thiagarajan, said: ‘I am delighted that the Isle of Man Government has decided, in line with the positions in Scotland and Wales, to continue with the current contract for junior doctors in the Isle of Man, instead of following the UK Government in attempting to impose a new contract on junior doctors in England, which the BMA views as unsafe for patients and unfair for doctors.’
Dr Malcolm Couch, DHSC chief executive, said: ‘I hope the message that the Isle of Man is retaining its existing contracts sends a clear signal to junior doctors and that, in turn, they will consider the Island when determining where to undertake their training.’
