Jim Mackey, Chief Executive of NHS Improvement, said:

It is disappointing that agreement on a new contract for junior doctors could not be reached. An ongoing dispute is in nobody’s interest – patients, the public and NHS staff themselves.

A shorter working week, limits on the number of consecutive long shifts and regular work reviews, if properly implemented, should lead to better working arrangements for doctors and therefore the patients they care for. It is essential that the NHS can move forward and in this context, hospitals are rightly now calling on the government to follow Sir David Dalton’s recommendation on implementing the compromise contract package.