Pay dispute must be resolved before waiting lists can be fixed, say consultants

Senior doctors have warned Rishi Sunak that he will not get NHS waiting times down unless he resolves the dispute over pay.

Speaking at the annual representative meeting of the British Medical Association (BMA) in Liverpool, doctors Mike Henley, Shanu Datta and Simon Walsh claimed take-home pay for consultants has fallen by 35% since 2008/2009.

Senior doctors have voted to strike for two days on July 20, working on a “Christmas day cover” basis.

Asked if the Prime Minister would get NHS waiting lists down amid industrial action, Dr Datta said “there are 7.2 million reasons” for the Government to talk to consultants.

Mr Sunak pledged to cut NHS waiting lists when they were at 7.2 million, but figures in April estimated they now stand at a record high of 7.4 million.

Dr Henley said industrial action is “about leverage”. He added: “Yes, it’s about leverage. We don’t want to use leverage, we just want a fair pay system that recruits and retains.

“But we’ve been put in this position where, sadly, we have to use leverage.

“They have a political problem and we have an easy and fair solution. We just need to both adopt it.”

However, Dr Walsh denied patients were being used as leverage in the dispute, he said: “I wouldn’t say we’re using patients as leverage because the reason the waiting lists are as they are is not the fault of doctors, and I’m sure everyone would agree with that.”

Dr Henley said a pay rise would not represent “an enormous amount of money”.

He added: “It’s just a political choice. There is always political money for all sorts of other things they want to do in other arenas and areas – look at the wasted PPE.

“The money is out there when it needs to be found. If you want a health service you’ve got to pay for the staff are in it. Right across the board.”

Dr Henley said the Review Body on Doctors’ and Dentists’ Remuneration (DDRB), which was created in 1960 to advise the Government on what professionals in the sectors should be paid, was initially “absolutely beyond the Government or professional control”.

He added: “Now Government controls every aspect of it. They control the people that sit on it. They set parameters at the outset for how much pay can be given and what the limits are.

“They wait until we submit our evidence and then when the closing dates occur, they read our evidence – they’re not supposed to – and then they fit evidence around it.

“Then when it comes out they still want to change it.”

Last month, junior doctors in England said they would consider co-ordinated action with consultants, but Dr Henley said “at the moment there are no plans to take combined action of any sort”.

According to Dr Datta, senior doctors are taking a different approach to their junior colleagues, who have vowed to strike every month until March 2024 until their demands are met.

He added: “It’s different from juniors and that reflects the different stages we are in our careers and I’m certainly not saying that one is right or which one is wrong, but we absolutely believe that there is a mechanism there called the DDRB that, if it’s got right, can stop us being at loggerheads with Government.”

He also described consultants’ discussions with Government as “cordial and respectful” and that strike action was called for with “a heavy heart”.

“We have been asking nicely for over a decade now,” Dr Datta added. “We wish we didn’t have to be here and it’s because we’ve exhausted all the other opportunities for trying.

“There has been a colossal erosion of our pay. What we want to do now is to get talking to government. In fact, even as we speak, it’s not too late for this to be called off. And many of us would prefer to do it that way.”

Staff retention and training in the health service was at the heart of the Government’s NHS Workforce Plan, which was revealed on Thursday.

Dr Walsh added: “The vast majority of us do continue putting our life into making the NHS work.

“This is an incredibly frustrating, painful situation for many of us to feel it’s crumbling around us that we’re getting more and more gaps around us.

“Those of us that are left are working harder than ever, getting burnt out, getting stressed, getting unhealthy just trying to sort of keep it all running.

“And and at the same time there’s no solution unless we actually take a stand.”

In terms of ending the dispute, Dr Henley said senior doctors will call off the strike when there’s a “suitable offer”.

“We will not be calling off strikes on the basis of ‘we’ll keep talking’,” he said.

“There needs to be an offer from Government. They’ve had a long while to think about it.”

A spokesperson for the Department of Health and Social Care said: “We hugely value the work of NHS consultants.

“We’ve been engaging with BMA Consultants Committee on their concerns and it is disappointing that BMA members have voted for strike action.

“We stand ready to open talks again – we urge them to come to the negotiating table rather than proceeding with their proposed strike dates.

“Strikes are hugely disruptive for patients and put pressure on other NHS staff, and we continue to call on the BMA to carefully consider the likely impact of any action on patients.”