Hunt challenges BMA to negotiate or face 7-day contract

Casting doctors and consultants as the roadblock in their stand-off with the health secretary Jeremy Hunt is "the wrong approach" according to BMA spokesperson Dr Mark Porter.

Doctors back a seven-day NHS service but want the government to outline how they will fund and staff it.

Chair of the British Medical Association Dr Paul Flynn said: "There is clear public support for more weekend services, but no clear plan on how this will be delivered.

“At a time when the NHS is facing a £22 billion funding shortfall, many hospitals are in the red and weekday services are under strain.

"The government must explain how they plan to expand services by up to 40% across the week.

"How will they pay for it? How will they ensure there isn’t a reduction in mid-week services? How will they put in place the support doctors need to deliver the same high standard of care over seven days?"

Patients are 15% more likely to die if they are admitted to hospital on a Sunday than a Wednesday, Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt has said.

Giving a speech at the King's Fund, he claimed this leads to 800 "avoidable deaths" a month.

"I've yet to meet a consultant who would be happy for their relative to be admitted on a weekend," he said.

Other mistakes which should never happen include operations carried out on the wrong side of the body - which occurs on average twice a week.

Hunt said: "Hospitals up and down the country are making the same tragic mistakes. We need a more human-centred system which puts patients rather than targets first."

Launching 'NHS Improvement', which he wants to be the "safest healthcare system in the world", he said in the next five years he expected:

• The majority of doctors to be on a seven-day working week which means they would work weekends but not more hours than is safe.
• A new 'no-blame' patient safety service to be set up to reduce fatalities and costs.
• Seamless access to electronic health records which can be shared
• NHS trusts to be enrolled in a "buddying programme" with Virginia Mason Hospital in Seattle, which is billed as the safest hospital in the world.
• The introduction of new medical devices which can send emergency alerts to ensure ambulances arrive quicker.