Court victory offers faint reprieve to Hewitt
Junior doctors have lost their legal case against the government’s online application system.
However, they scored a moral victory after the judge overseeing the case said it was a “flawed system” and indicated they could pursue other legal claims.
Doctors’ pressure group Remedy took the government to the High Court over its beleaguered Medical Training and Application System (MTAS), claiming it was “so conspicuously unfair as to amount to an abuse of power.”
Mr Justice Goldring rejected the application for a judicial review, but stopped far short of defending the government against the criticisms levied at the MTAS.
He said: “The fact that the claimant has failed in what was accepted to be an unprecedented application so far as the law is concerned does not mean that many junior doctors do not have an entirely justifiable sense of grievance.
“The premature introduction of MTAS has had disastrous consequences. It was a flawed system.”
The Department of Health welcomed the ruling – which provided small relief as the health secretary Patricia Hewitt faces increasing calls for her resignation.
Health minister Lord Hunt said: “We welcome this finding. In consultation with representatives of the medical community, including junior doctors, we will continue to work to establish the best possible way forward in order to match trainee doctors to posts.
“We feel strongly that the process of making job offers should go ahead in the interests of both doctors and patients.”
Lord Hunt said the department acknowledged the criticisms raised by the judgement and would seek to learn from them.
Remedy said the High Court ruling marked a sad day for junior doctors, but was pleased the judge recognised the unfairness of the system.
MTAS has been fiercely criticised after it emerged 34,000 doctors are chasing 18,500 training posts, with many claiming their careers within the NHS are already over.
James Johnson, the chair of the British Medical Association, unexpectedly resigned at the weekend after he was accused of failing to convey junior doctors’ anger over the flawed MTAS.
Ms Hewitt has already been forced to abandon the controversial system for the second round of applications, set to begin in a couple of weeks.
It is expected she will be removed from the Department of Health when Gordon Brown takes over as prime minister, but the Conservatives are keen to obtain a vote of no confidence as a parting gesture.
They are using today’s opposition debate to call for her salary to be docked by £1,000 in a traditional mark of no confidence in a minister.
The Conservatives have urged Tony Blair to sack Ms Hewitt, after David Cameron branded her a “lame duck” minister during prime minister’s questions.
Shadow health secretary Andrew Lansley said Ms Hewitt must take responsibility for the objections raised to the MTAS.
He said: “The judge in this case said the MTAS was a flawed system which has had disastrous consequences, and that junior doctors have an entirely justifiable sense of grievance.
“Patricia Hewitt has failed to take responsibility or to accept or act on the urgent steps required.”
However, the Liberal Democrats challenged the entire government to take responsibility, claiming the health secretary had been “left to take the flak”.
The problems in the health service extended beyond junior doctors’ training, they warned, pointing to ongoing financial problems.
Health spokesman Norman Lamb said Ms Hewitt and Mr Blair have been “shamefully dishonest” about changes in the NHS, arguing ward closures are driven by financial need not a genuine reassessment of services.
Mr Lamb said: “Patricia Hewitt has been hung out to dry, and left to take the flak for a decade of wasted investment and botched reform, all overseen by the chancellor.
“The chaos with junior doctor training scheme is her fault – but the seeds for the fiasco were sown years earlier. The government may have won the judicial review, but they have lost the confidence of doctors in the process.”
Mr Blair defended the government’s plans to close maternity units after an attack by Mr Cameron in the House of Commons. He insisted mothers in need of specialist care would receive it, adding nine in ten people are satisfied with services.
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