Pavilion Publishing and Media Ltd
Blue Sky Offices Shoreham, 25 Cecil Pashley Way, Shoreham-by-Sea, West Sussex, BN43 5FF, UNITED KINGDOM
Tel: +44 (0)1273 434 943
Email: [email protected]
Consultants in England will strike again for two days in August unless the government revisits their proposed pay offer, the British Medical Association has announced.
Last week, the government announced that most doctors and dentists will receive a pay increase which will be backdated to April 2023. Pay for junior doctors will be increased by 8.8% on average, while consultants will receive an increase of 6%.
Dr Vishal Sharma, BMA consultants committee chair, said the government’s pay offer is “savage” and “nothing short of insulting”.
“Consultants have always been clear that industrial action is a last resort but in the face of a Government intent on devaluing consultants’ expertise and their lack of regard for the impact this is having on the NHS, we have been left with no choice.
“We’ve had our pay cut year after year, put our lives on the line during a pandemic and now are managing a record backlog of care. The Prime Minister says cutting these waiting lists is a priority but then undermines his own policy by showing he doesn’t value those charged with delivering it. Cutting pay once again shows the Government’s complete disregard for the profession,” he said.
Consultants’ pay has grown by just 14% over last 14 years
New research by the BMA shows that the pay of consultants in England flatlined at just 14% growth in the 14 years to 2022/23. In stark contrast, the average pay for the UK went up by around 48% in the same period.
The difference was even more stark in professions such as law, accountancy, financial services, architects and engineering, with professionals working in these areas enjoying growth of nearly 80% in wages.
The BMA says this comparison shows that consultant pay has not only failed to keep up with inflation, but it has also failed to keep up with comparable professions.
BMA urges government to reform the pay review body
Consultants in England are already due to strike on 20 and 21 July, and have previously warned that they would announce further strike action unless the government presented them with an offer that “begins to reverse the 35% pay erosion they have experienced”.
The BMA has also urged the government to reform to the current “broken” pay review process, which currently allows the Prime Minister and Secretary of State to appoint the pay review body’s (PRB) chair and members.
Dr Sharma says three is “no longer any doubt” about the supposed independence of the pay review body, after a Conservative backbencher admitted that the government can ‘rig’ the process.
The BMA has long been calling for this reform after research revealed “meddling and interference” by the Government into the doctors’ and dentists’ pay review body, the DDRB. The report concluded that the NHS staffing crisis cannot be resolved without wholesale reform of the PRB.
“The future of the NHS depends on there being consultants within it”
Dr Sharma is now urging the government to re-enter talks with the BMA in order to prevent more highly experienced doctors from leaving the country or the profession.
“This “final offer” and flat refusal to engage in further talks has left us with no option but to continue our action. We have therefore announced further strike dates in August and will announce further dates in due course.
“We will have always tried to give as much notice of dates as possible in order to help our colleagues prepare and minimise the impact on patients, but the Government must also understand that we will continue to stand up for consultants and, if necessary, are in this for the long haul. More than 80% of consultants in our ballot voted for industrial action and this week’s announcement will only strengthen their resolve.
“Consultants are the NHS’s most experienced, highly-skilled clinicians, and are responsible not just for providing specialist care to patients, but also leading entire services and training the doctors of the future. The future of the NHS depends on there being consultants within it, but attacks on their pay will drive them away – from the health service and from the country – with devastating consequences,” he said.