End of NHS strikes in sight as consultants on six-figure salaries finally accept pay deal that will give them up to an extra £20,000 each

Consultants have agreed to end strikes after accepting a bumper new NHS pay deal that will see some earn almost £20,000 more a year.

The medics voted 83 per cent in favour of the offer, which takes their salaries to between £99,532 and £131,964, excluding private work.

The uplift is worth an extra 6 per cent to 19.6 per cent, depending on experience.

Health leaders said NHS managers will ‘breathe a sigh of relief’ to know that there will be no further consultant strikes ‘for the foreseeable future’.

And Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said the result is ‘excellent news’ for patients, as it will make it easier to cut waiting lists.

This graphic shows how consultants pay is set to rocket under the updated offer now being put to union members. The X axis shows the pay by years of experience. The solid base of each bar shows the medics’ pay for 2022/23. The lighter top section of the bar shows what consultants will now earn under the new deal . It means consultants with eight years’ experience will see their pay jump by £19,459, or 12.8 per cent, from January 2024, compared to their earnings up to March 2023. While this group of medics are the biggest winners of the deal, those who have just two years’ experience will see their pay rise by £5,634, or six per cent — the Governments initial offer

The British Medical Assocation, a doctors’ union, said the proposal improves on one rejected earlier this year as it includes additional changes the profession’s pay review body and a larger pay rise for more doctors.

Senior medics in England have staged four rounds of strikes across nine days, hampering efforts to tackle the NHS waiting list.

Junior doctors, who have also taken industrial action, remain in dispute with the government, as do specialty and specialist (SAS) doctors.

The BMA said agreed changes to the pay review body (DDRB) represents ‘significant progress’ in returning it to its ‘original purpose and independence’.

From next year, there will be changes to the way it will appoint members, and the Government will no longer be able to constrain its remit with reference to inflation targets and economic evidence.

The BMA added: ‘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.’

Members of the Hospital Consultants and Specialists Association (HCSA) also voted – by 83 per cent – to accept the offer.

Junior doctors and consultants from the BMA at a picket line outside University College London Hospital during a three-day joint walkout in October

President Dr Naru Narayanan said: ‘Our members’ resilience and courage has seen them secure long overdue improvements to pay.

‘This is the best deal available right now and a step firmly in the right direction.

‘We will continue to ensure that consultants’ enormous contribution to the NHS is properly recognised.

‘This will include holding the Government to account on the implementation of reforms to the pay review body.

‘It is now time for the Government to step up and make our junior and SAS doctor colleagues fair pay offers.’

Matthew Taylor, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, which represents healthcare organisations, urged junior doctors and ministers to also reach a settlement.

He added: ‘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 1.4million 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.’

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.’

Sir Julian Hartley, chief executive of NHS Providers, described the ballot result as ‘welcome news for trust leaders’.

However, he added: ‘We aren’t out of the woods yet, however, with junior doctors having voted for more strikes and industrial action while other specialty and specialist doctors have rejected a Government pay offer.

‘Hugely disruptive and costly strikes in the NHS can’t become ‘business as usual’.

‘Remaining concerns must be resolved. Industrial action takes a toll on patients, staff and stretched services.

‘We urge politicians and unions to find a way to end all disputes.’