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Accommodation campaign: Background and history

August 2008
In July 2007, the requirement for pre-registration doctors to be resident at the hospital was removed from the Medical Act 1983. This means that there is no longer a statutory requirement for pre-registration doctors (first year foundation house officers (FHO1s) to be resident, which in turn means that hospital accommodation no longer needs to be provided without charge to FHO1s.

In August 2007 NHS Employers wrote to trusts to encourage them to continue to provide free accommodation to FHO1s for 2007/08. However, from August 2008 most trusts stopped providing accommodation for these doctors without charge.

Read more background

What have we done so far?
As well as co-ordinating the protests, we have written to the NHS Employers asking them to negotiate with us about this but we have unfortunately had no positive response to date. We are pressing the NHSE but at a meeting on May 27 NHS Employers refused to open meaningful talks on the issue. Mr Ram Moorthy (Chairman of JDC) has also written to Ms Ann Keen MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of Sate for Health to request a meeting and that request has been declined.

The last stage of our campaign took place on 18 July in London. More than 200 medical students gathered to protest at the removal of free accommodation support for newly qualified junior doctors. The Chairman of the BMA, Dr Hamish Meldrum and the Chairs of the Medical Students and Junior Doctors committees, called on the government to reverse a decision that will deliver a drastic financial blow to thousands of junior doctors.


Thanks to everyone who got involved in the protest on 18 July, and in the local protests that took place in May and June.

More information about the press coverage on our campaign

You can see a film about the day on the BMA's webcast player or on BMAtv, the BMA's YouTube channel.

Local protests
These protests were led by medical students throughout the country. Read more details here

Write to your local politician:
A letter writing campaign to MPs went live on Thursday 1 May. Thousands of letters have already been sent but if you have not contacted your MP please take part using our online wizard.