Consultants in England have voted overwhelmingly in favour of a
revised offer from the government in a major breakthrough which
brings an end to their strike action.
The deal will help address the gender pay gap in medicine, and
also gives consultants more clarity on their pay progression
arrangements. It also provides consultants with more confidence
in the review body that advises government on rates of pay for
doctors and dentists.
The core contract for consultants has not been updated for 20
years and this offer will deliver reform to reflect modern ways
of working, such as enhanced shared parental leave, in line with
other NHS staff.
This outcome demonstrates that approaching negotiations in good
faith and with reasonable expectations can lead to a good outcome
for taxpayers, staff and patients, and a good deal for doctors
and healthcare workers.
This now ends the prospect of damaging strike action by
consultants that has had a detrimental impact on patients and the
NHS, and will allow consultants to focus their efforts on further
reductions to waiting times for patients.
Significant progress has been made recently, with overall NHS
waiting lists decreasing for four months in a row by a total of
192,000 – despite winter pressures and industrial action by
junior doctors.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said:
“The end of consultant strike action in the NHS is excellent
news for patients. It will mean we can continue making progress
towards our goal of cutting the waiting lists, which have now
fallen for the fourth month in a row.
“Consultants perform a vital role at the heart of the NHS –
I'm pleased they've accepted this deal, which is fair for them
and fair for the taxpayer.”
Health and Social Care Secretary Victoria Atkins
said:
“I hugely value the work of NHS consultants and I am pleased
that, after weeks of negotiations, they have accepted this fair
and reasonable offer, putting an end to the threat of further
strike action.
“Consultants will now be able to focus on providing the
highest quality care for patients and we can consolidate our
progress on waiting lists – which have fallen for the past four
months.
“This deal directly addresses gender pay issues in the NHS
and enhances consultants' parental leave options – representing a
fair deal for consultants, patients, and taxpayers.”
Constructive talks between the government and the unions were
reopened in February and all parties negotiated in good faith
after the initial offer was narrowly rejected.
The deal adds further clarity and specificity to the original
offer, while addressing some of the concerns that consultants
have raised.
It continues to invest in modernising the consultants' pay
structure – reducing the number of pay points and the time it
takes to reach the top, effective from 1 March.
The pay scale reforms will also help mitigate the gender pay gap
by delivering a key recommendation made by Professor Dame Jane
Dacre in her review on the gender pay
gap in medicine.
To enable these reforms, unions have agreed to end Local Clinical
Excellence Awards (LCEAs) going forward – an employer-level bonus
scheme – which have been seen to contribute to pay
inequalities.
The British Medical Association (BMA) has also agreed
to end the use of its rate card, which advises doctors on how
much to charge for non-contractual work, including cover during
strikes.
Moving forward, the NHS Long Term Workforce
Plan will support the NHS to address existing vacancies
and meet the challenges of a growing and ageing population by
training, recruiting and retaining hundreds of thousands more
staff over the next 15 years – backed by more than £2.4 billion
in government investment.
