Reform to ‘exception reporting', the process resident doctors use to accurately record their working hours, identify unsafe staffing levels, and protect patients, had been a key part of the deal that had seen too little progress up to January of this year.

However, after extensive negotiations over the past six months with the DHSC, NHS Employers, and NHS England, the BMA's resident doctors committee (RDC) has determined that the Government and Employers have agreed enough substantive reforms to end the dispute. 

Co-chairs of RDC, Dr Melissa Ryan and Dr Ross Nieuwoudt, said: ‘This is a win-win outcome for doctors, the Government and the NHS. Doctors should never feel intimidated into not reporting their overtime, not pointing out where they are missing out on training, not raising the alarm over staffing shortages. The current system has left many feeling gaslit and let down such that many don't even bother using the system. This needed to change and we feel confident we are now making enough progress in doing so.

‘But this is also something the Government and health service can celebrate. Ministers have talked about how they want to boost NHS productivity – but hospitals first need information about what is going wrong to do that. Exception reporting highlights flaws in rotas, patient safety concerns, and inefficiencies right across a hospital. With the data coming in from an exception reporting system that everyone believes in, the NHS will have the localised and up-to-date information stream it needs to fix problems and keep patients safe. Bad work cultures mean inefficient workplaces – better reporting is good for everyone.'