JEREMY Hunt, MP for South West Surrey and Secretary of State for Health, has come under intense pressure after NHS workers reacted angrily to his calls for a “seven-day” health service.

On Tuesday, Mr Hunt will become the 10th longest serving health secretary of all time, surpassing fellow Tory MP Derek Walter-Smith’s tenure of two years and 334 days in the role during the late 1950s.

And barring a reshuffle, this November Mr Hunt will also surpass his predecessor in South West Surrey, Virginia Bottomley, who spent three years and 86 days as health secretary between 1992 and 1995.

However, a growing number of NHS doctors, nurses and consultants are determined to prevent the incumbent MP and cabinet minister reaching this milestone.

Mr Hunt has long called for changes to doctors’ working hours to create a ‘seven-day NHS’ and he recently accused NHS consultants of being responsible for a rise in patient deaths over weekends.

But his comments, and specifically a threat to ‘force’ consultants to work seven days a week, have triggered a furious backlash with many NHS workers pointing out they are already working flat-out.

The hashtag #ImInWorkJeremy has subsequently trended on Twitter, with doctors and nurses posting ‘selfies’ to the Health Secretary - including a surgeon sweeping his own floor and a consultant working on their child’s first birthday.

A group of influential doctors published an open letter challenging government claims over the safety of weekend services and referring to Mr Hunt’s comments on seven-day services as “the last straw” following the progressive ‘privatisation’ of the NHS, closure of services and budget cuts. 

And a London-based consultant set up a petition calling on parliament to debate a vote of no confidence in the incumbent health secretary which has to-date mustered more than 200,000 signatures - surpassing the 100,000 endorsements needed to trigger a debate in parliament.

The petition reads: “Mr Hunt has alienated the entire workforce of the NHS by threatening to impose a harsh contract and conditions on first consultants and soon the rest of the NHS staff.”

Mr Hunt is yet to respond to this criticism directly, but Number 10 moved swiftly to back the beleaguered Secretary this week by reinforcing his NHS weekend death claims and the need for reforms to the health service.

“The Government is committed to delivering seven-day services to make sure that patients get the same high quality, safe care on a Saturday and Sunday as they do on a week day,” said the Government in an official statement.

“Many people do not realise that if you are admitted to hospital on a weekend, you have a 16 per cent greater chance of dying.

“The Government wants to change this so that everyone can be confident that they will receive the same level of care whatever day of the week they are admitted to an NHS hospital.”

The statement added NHS consultants provide an “outstanding” service and show great dedication to ensuring patients get the best outcomes.

But it said the Government has a duty to make sure the system is set up in a way which makes it as easy as possible for hospitals to organise their resources to maximise patient safety across every day of the week.

Number 10 also blamed current NHS contracts for allowing consultants to refuse non-emergency work in the evenings, at nights and weekends which it said presents “a major barrier to seven day services”.

“No junior doctor, nurse or other clinical group has any such right,” it continued. “Other senior public sector professionals who work in services required to keep the public safe, such as police officers, firemen and prison governors, do not have this opt out either.

“While the vast majority of consultants work tirelessly for their patients, the opt-out allows individuals to charge employers hugely expensive payments which are much higher than national contract rates (up to £200 an hour).

“The average earnings for a hospital consultant are already in the top two per cent in the country at £118,000, and these inflated payments can make it difficult for hospitals to provide the weekend cover they know patients need.”

Under new plans, the Government said doctors will still continue to receive a “significantly higher” rate for working unsocial hours and there will be a contractual limit - rather than an expectation - of working a maximum of 13 weekends a year.

“By the end of the Parliament, the Government hopes that the majority of consultants, in line with existing practice for nurses, midwives and junior doctors, will be on reformed contracts, working across seven days, to deliver a better service to patients,” said the statement.

Speaking to The Herald in May after Frimley Park Hospital declared a ‘black alert’, Mr Hunt said: “A seven-day NHS will actually help to relieve pressure on the acute sector particularly by improving access to GPs in the evenings and at weekends.

“By next March, 18 million people will be able to see a GP seven days a week, and by 2020 the whole country will have access. The NHS has laid out its own plan for the future including a transformation of care in the community - not only maintaining current services but also ensuring that ‘patients have access to seven day services’.

“The Government’s investment of an additional £8 billion helps fulfil that pledge.”