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Senior doctors in England balloted for industrial action

The ballots for consultants and specialist, associate specialist and specialty (SAS) doctors opened today, 11th May, and will run for eight weeks, closing on 6th July.

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Senior doctors in England balloted for industrial action
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Senior doctors in England are being balloted for industrial action by the British Medical Association (BMA) in disputes over pay and working conditions.

The ballots for consultants and specialist, associate specialist and specialty (SAS) doctors opened today, 11th May, and will run for eight weeks, closing on 6th July.

If successful, all doctors working in secondary care in England could potentially hold mandates for industrial action simultaneously.

The BMA said both consultants and SAS doctors remain in dispute with the Government over pay erosion since 2008/09, alongside wider concerns over workforce retention, career progression and working conditions.

The union said consultants are seeking more protected time for innovation, training and service improvement work, as well as reductions in standard hours and improved recognition for demanding out-of-hours work.

Meanwhile, the SAS committee is calling for better career progression opportunities, reforms to recognition and compensation for anti-social hours, and improvements to annual leave entitlements.

Both groups have criticised the Government’s 3.5% pay award announced in March, arguing it does not address long-term pay decline.

Dr Shanu Datta, co-chair of the BMA consultants committee, and Dr Helen Neary, co-chair of the BMA consultants committee, said: “When you or your loved ones go to hospital, a consultant is the most senior and skilled doctor in the department, in overall charge of your care.

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“They are also responsible for improving services and designing new ones, as well as training the doctors of the future.

“Yet the failure to value this expertise, and support and protect consultants from the demands of the job, means we risk losing them when patients need them most.

“Left unaddressed, the impact of this is early retirement, quiet quitting, and consultants leaving the profession in the UK, resulting in doctor shortages and even worse wait times for care.”

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They added: “BMA consultants and SAS doctors in England are standing together and demanding better. Better pay that ensures a career in the NHS remains attractive and sustainable.

“Better conditions to ensure that we can care for our patients safely. Better recognition for the key quality and safety work that consultants need to undertake for our patients and the NHS.

“Industrial action is a last resort, but in the face of a Government that seems intent on making the role of a consultant even more demanding with no associated recognition, we are left with no choice but to show ministers that we are prepared to stand up for one another, our professionalism and our patients.”

Dr Ujjwala Mohite, chair of the BMA SAS committee, said: “SAS doctors are the bedrock of so many hospitals, providing lifesaving and vital care to people day-in day-out. Yet they continue to go unrecognised.

“Like our consultant and resident doctor colleagues, we too have seen our pay fall. Alongside this SAS doctors experience barriers to career development and lack of opportunities, that mean they unable to offer their true potential to patients.

“We hope that industrial action won’t be necessary, but SAS doctors must be prepared to stand together to show their value to a Government that won’t recognise it.”

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