CONSULTANTS in England have reached a new deal with the government that could potentially draw a line under the ongoing dispute and strikes.
The British Medical Association (BMA) and Hospital Consultants & Specialists Association (HCSA) will now put the offer to their members.
If accepted, the new offer would see more doctors getting an additional rise compared with the previous offer, which was narrowly voted down.
The deal would mean top hospital doctors receive a rise of between 6 and 19.6 per cent, depending on the number of years as a consultant.
BMA consultants committee chairman Dr Vishal Sharma said: “This hard-fought-for offer marks a step forward in restoring fairness.
“If it is accepted, as we hope it will be, it is essential that the pay review process makes recommendations that will further restore consultants’ pay in the coming years to fix the retention crisis among the consultant workforce, and therefore safeguard medical expertise in the NHS.”
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said that ending the industrial action is vital “if we want to cut waiting lists and make sure patients are getting the care they deserve.”
The PM made this one of his priorities as premier — but has failed to fulfil his promise.
Health & Social Care Secretary Victoria Atkins said she was glad that unions were recommending the offer to their members, saying it will “modernise pay structures — directly addressing gender pay issues in the NHS — and enhance consultants’ parental leave options.”
The BMA said that it has also secured important changes to the doctors’ & dentists’ remuneration (DDRB) pay review body which will “return it to its original purpose and independence,” including changes to the way members are appointed to the body and that the government will no longer be able to limit its remit regarding inflation targets.
The DDRB will also make its pay recommendations for doctors in the context of “long-term trends in the wider labour market and comparator professions, including relevant international comparators,” the union added.
HCSA president Dr Naru Narayanan said: “After further high-intensity negotiations, the HCSA executive feels this package has improved sufficiently to recommend a Yes vote to members.”
The NHS Confederation urged medics to accept the offer to end the “damaging dispute.”
During the current dispute, consultants in England have staged four rounds of strike action across nine days.
Junior doctors, who have staged 10 rounds of strike action, are still waiting to re-enter talks with the government as their dispute over pay rumbles on.
And specialist, associate specialist and speciality (SAS) doctors in England are hoping to restart negotiations after members voted against a new pay offer.
