Thread by @Vish_Sharm

1/ Consultants have clearly expressed their anger about the Government’s planned 1% pay award. They are telling @BMA_Consultants that they will no longer accept this poor treatment from the Government.

How has it come to this and why is it a problem......?

2/ Consultants take overall responsibility for your care in the hospital. They are the leaders of hospital services, the teachers for future generations of doctors and the experienced doctors who are called when things are seriously wrong.

3/ We already have a lower number of consultants per 1000 people than comparator countries. To plug the gaps each consultant will on average do the work of 1.2 consultants, with much of this extra work unpaid. On top of this they are asked to do extra lists and cover rota gaps.

4/ Since 2008, consultant pay has fallen by 28% against inflation. This is the greatest pay erosion of any group of workers across the public or private sector. This is despite having an independent @PayReviewBodies - the doctors and dentists remuneration body (DDRB)

5/ Between 2010/11 to 2017/18, the Government told the 'independent' DDRB it could only give doctors a pay award of 0%, 0%, 0%, 1%, 0%, 0%, 1%, 1%, despite average inflation (RPI) of 3.1% per year

The DDRB complied with this instruction, contrary to its founding principles.

6/ In 2018/19, the DDRB was able to make an 'independent' recommendation and despite the multiple years of pay restraint, awarded doctors a 2% 'pay rise'. The government ignored this and effectively gave consultants a pay award of 0.75%

7/ Pre COVID, the combination of significant pay erosion, pensions taxation and poor working conditions were leaving consultants to reduce work, retire early or leave the NHS. This resulted in the worst waiting list performance figures on record pre-pandemic

8/ Over the last 16 months, consultants and other nHS staff have given their all to care for patients, risking their lives and the lives of their families in the process. Shockingly as of Dec 2020, over 850 healthcare workers have died from COVID.

9/ The Government's suggestion that they can only afford to give NHS staff a 1% pay award - which is an effective pay cut against inflation - is abhorrent. After the events to the last 15 months this is a clear demonstration that the government does not value NHS staff

10/ What has the @TheBMA been doing about it. Through our #FairnessForTheFrontline campaign we have been asking members what you think about a 1% pay award. You have told us clearly that this is completely unacceptable and that enough is enough.

11/ You are not alone, 62% of the public support a pay rise for doctors with nearly 3/4 of those suggesting it should be 3% or more. 4000 doctors and members of the public have written to their MPs demanding a significant pay uplift for doctors

12/ What have @BMA_Consultants in England asked @PayReviewBodies (DDRB) for? We called for a pay award of *AT LEAST* 5% for this year as part of a series of above inflation pay awards to restore the ~30% pay since 2008.

13/ CPI was running at ~2% during the DDRB process. @bankofengland Chief Economist is now predicting CPI will be closer to 4% by the end of this year. We expect that the government/DDRB will take this into account to ensure the pay award remains significantly above inflation.

14/ For many an above inflation pay award may trigger an AA tax charge, leaving some worse off as a result - another example of the stupidity of applying the AA to the NHS pension scheme. @BMA_Pensions is lobbying hard - both pay and pension issues need to be resolved for doctors

15/ But, we cannot allow pay to fall further behind inflation whilst waiting for the pension taxation reform. As the pay restraint since 2008 demonstrates the impacts of multiple years of below inflation wards are compounded leaving consultants significantly worse off as a result

16/ If the government does not offer a satisfactory award @BMA_Consultants in England, will be writing to members to ask you what you think of the pay award, what you would be willing to do about it and what you would like @BMA_Consultants to do about it.