NHS leaders relieved as consultants accept latest pay offer

Responding to British Medical Association’s (BMA) announcement that consultants have accepted the latest pay offer 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.

“But the potential for further junior doctor strikes looms large, which could lead to more operations and appointments being cancelled and place more pressure on already stretched services. While NHS organisations have worked tirelessly to fill rota gaps and keep patients safe more than 1.4 million appointments and operations have been cancelled over the last year of industrial action, with even more patients joining waiting lists.

“This agreement between the BMA consultant committee and government shows that a sensible middle ground can be reached through negotiations, and we urge the BMA junior doctors committee and government to quickly re-enter negotiations to reach a similar agreement to stop further damaging strike action by junior doctors.”