The health secretary continues to misrepresent today’s strike by 10,000 junior doctors as a “completely unnecessary dispute” over pay, ignoring the junior doctors’ concerns about patient safety.

The new contract proposed by the government would change standard working hours for junior doctors from 7am to 7pm Monday to Friday, to 7am to 10pm Monday to Saturday, with no increase in pay for the unsociable hours or safeguards to stop doctors becoming overworked and over-tired.

A recent study into fatigue and medical errors, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association in September 2009, found that increased fatigue could result in medical errors rising by as much as 15%.

Hunt claims that the changes are needed to create a seven-day NHS, which he says is not currently available as those who go into hospital on the weekend have a greater chance of death than those who go into hospital during the week.

However, these statistics are misleading as they do not take into account the seriousness of the ailments for which people are suffering when they go into hospital, and patients with serious problems are more likely to visit hospitals on the weekend.