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Around half (44%) of hospital consultants and a similar number (50%) of consultant surgeons are considering leaving or taking a break from the NHS next year.
These new figures are based on a survey by the British Medical Association (BMA), which interviewed nearly 8,000 doctors.
Those planning to leave say this is due to more than a decade of pay erosion and punitive pension taxation arrangements.
In light of the findings, the BMA are now calling on the government to take urgent action to address pay, pension arrangements and working conditions. Otherwise, they warn the NHS could face “a tidal wave of resignations from its most senior doctors”.
Hospital consultants say this year’s pay award is “completely unacceptable”
Since 2008/09 the average consultant in England has experienced a fall in real terms take-home pay of nearly 35%, according to the BMA.
NHS consultants have described this year’s pay increase of 3.5% as “inadequate” and “completely unacceptable”, and the BMA have long been calling for a pay increase that is in line with inflation.
Increasing numbers of senior doctors are cutting their hours or retiring early, which is partly due to pension tax rules. This is preventing experienced doctors from stepping into help clear the NHS backlog which currently sits at 6.84 million people.
The Association is now balloting junior doctors over strike action. This paired with a mass exodus of senior doctors could see the NHS in a position where they are unable to provide timely and safe care for patients.
Government must “demonstrate that it values the medical workforce”
Dr Vishal Sharma, chair of the BMA consultants committee, says losing so many doctors will not only impact patient care but will also have a negative effect on the staff who choose to stay in the profession.
“The NHS is already at breaking point and cannot afford to lose any of its staff, never mind facing the prospect of losing nearly half of its most senior doctors. Not only will this have a very significant adverse impact on patient care, this loss of doctors will simply result in increased pressure on those staff who remain in the workforce, further increasing the risk of burnout,” she explains.
Dr Sharma is now urgently calling on the government to “demonstrate that it values the medical workforce” by taking steps to restore doctors’ pay and address the “pension tax trap”. She says this would provide certainty to senior doctors that they can go on working for as long as they want in an unrestricted way, and help to ease the backlog of care.
“The NHS is at breaking point and unless the Government acts it will collapse completely. We urge the Government to come to the table and talk to consultants about the changes that are needed before it is too late to stop the drain of doctors from the NHS,” she concludes.