BIASP wish to acknowledge the contribution of doctors in postgraduate training (also known as junior doctors) to maintaining the standards of care for patients with cerebrovascular disease. Their attention to detail in routine care, diagnosis and treatment of patients on stroke wards is a vital component of the multidisciplinary approach to patient care and is also crucial to services in outpatients and in other follow-up services. These doctors are highly trained, having completed onerous undergraduate and postgraduates medical programmes allowing them to develop expertise and skills in clinical examination and history taking.
In addition there is a large amount of clerical and administrative work completed mainly or exclusively by junior doctors. As well as the initial clerking, maintenance of inpatient notes, discharge summaries, and the requesting and checking of investigations, they are also responsible for other tasks including managing emergencies under supervision, discussions with medical examiners and the coroner, and for the completion of reports for other agencies including social services and the DVLA.
It is impossible to maintain the current high standards of care in stroke services – as reflected in National Audit data – without the input of junior doctors. Furthermore, important recent improvements in rates of thrombolysis and thrombectomy are unsustainable without their contribution.
We support the junior doctors in their efforts to secure fair pay and working conditions, and in reaching an agreement with the government as soon as possible.
