Junior doctors have accepted the government’s pay offer by 66%, after the most prolonged industrial dispute in the NHS’s history.
Under the deal – which the Health Secretary agreed with BMA leadership within three weeks of coming into office – the government and junior doctors will work together to turn the health service around and resolve wider issues affecting the workforce – including training and rotational placements.
As Lord Ara Darzi set out in his probe into the NHS, this government inherited a broken NHS which is in a critical condition. This is a sentiment shared by doctors, and has been seriously compounded by the impact of strikes.
The deal comes days after the Prime Minister delivered a major speech on NHS reform, saying the government has a profound responsibility to do the hard work required to fix the NHS with long term reform, and the NHS workforce will play an integral part in both designing and delivering the government’s ten year health plan to deliver the necessary reform.
The price of not settling the pay dispute has seen catastrophic impacts not just on the country’s economy – with NHS strikes costing the taxpayer almost £1.7 billion since April last year – but to patients and the nation’s health, with over 1.5 million appointments cancelled. Ending this chaos is a necessary first step in turning around the NHS.
Doctors can now focus on treating their patients, and work with the government to recover and reform the NHS. The government has already taken action to remove red tape preventing general practices from hiring doctors – ensuring more than 1,000 newly qualified GPs can be recruited by the end of the year.
NHS patients will have earlier access to new treatments and the UK will become the home of cutting-edge health research after the launch of The Voluntary Scheme for Branded Medicine Pricing, Access and Growth (VPAG) Investment Programme last month – a joint public-private investment programme worth up to £400 million.
The Darzi report has also been welcomed by NHS England and health organisations who have pledged to work closely with the government on its mission to rebuild the NHS.
The Health and Social Care Secretary made reaching a deal his top priority on coming into office, and first spoke with the BMA’s Junior Doctors’ Committee on his first day, ahead of the offer being agreed within weeks.
Health and Social Care Secretary Wes Streeting said:
We inherited a broken NHS, the most devastating dispute in the health service’s history, and negotiations hadn’t taken place with the previous Ministers since March.
Things should never have been allowed to get this bad. That’s why I made ending the strikes a priority, and we negotiated an end to them in just three weeks.
I am pleased that our offer has been accepted, ending the strikes ahead of looming winter pressures on the NHS.
This marks the necessary first step in our mission to cut waiting lists, reform the broken health service, and make it fit for the future.
The cumulative impact of the uplifts mean a doctor starting foundation training in the NHS will see their basic pay increase to £36,600, compared to around £32,400 before the deal.
Recognising how disruptive the system of rotations can be for junior doctors, their partners and families, the department will lead a review of the current system, with the intention of reforming the number and frequency of rotations.
We will also be working with NHS England on a review of training numbers, both to address the training bottlenecks which already exist and the planned expansion of medical school places, to ensure patients have access to the junior doctors they need today, and the consultants and GPs they will need in the future.