Doctors' strikes: NHS consultants end long-running pay dispute with government after accepting latest offer

NHS consultants have brought their long-running pay dispute with the government to an end after accepting the latest pay offer on the table.

The British Medical Association (BMA) has confirmed that its members in England accepted the latest offer by 83% in favour. The medical union called that pay offer an improvement on what had previously been offered, with additional changes to the pay review body (DDRB) also included in the package.

The BMA said: “These changes mean that the DDRB can no longer ignore the historical losses that doctors have suffered or the fact that countries abroad are competing for UK doctors with the offer of significantly higher salaries. The offer also improves on the previous proposal to reform the consultant pay scale.” The offer includes a 2.85% (£3,000) uplift for those who have been consultants between four and seven years on top of a 6% pay rise offered during the DDRB process last summer. It was labelled as “significant progress” following months of stalemate between the union and the government. It had also been accepted by 83% of Hospital Consultants and Specialists Association (HCSA) members.

Dr Vishal Sharma, who chairs the BMA consultants committee, said: “The last year has seen consultants take unprecedented strike action in our fight to address our concerns about pay and how the supposedly independent pay review process was operating. After years of repeated real-terms pay cuts, caused by Government interference and a failure of the pay review process, consultants have spoken and now clearly feel that this offer is enough of a first step to address our concerns to end the current dispute.

“However, it’s now imperative that the DDRB utilises its independence to restore doctors’ pay and prevent any further disputes from arising. We’ve reached this point not just through our tough negotiations with the Government, but thanks to the resolve of consultants, who took the difficult decision to strike, and did so safely and effectively, on multiple occasions, sending a clear message that they would not back down.

Dr Sharma said that the “future sustainability of the NHS” was at the heart of the dispute, adding: : “Without valuing doctors, we lose them. Without doctors, we have no NHS and patients suffer.

“But the fight is not yet over. This is only the end of the beginning, and we have some way to go before the pay consultants have lost over the last 15 years has been restored. Therefore, all eyes will be on this year’s pay review round, recommendations from the DDRB and response from the Government.”

Matthew Taylor, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, said: “NHS leaders will breathe a sigh of relief to know that there will be no further damaging industrial action from NHS consultants for the foreseeable future. The health service relies heavily on its consultant workforce and these professionals have helped to keep the most life-critical services afloat including over the difficult winter period and the recent junior doctors’ walkouts.”

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.”