NHS bosses could be set for a summer of chaos as doctors' union hints that pay ... trends now
NHS bosses are braced for a summer of chaos after union leaders suggested a 50 per cent pay hike would not be enough to stop senior doctors from striking.
In comments unearthed by the Mail, officials from doctors' union the British Medical Association (BMA) said that if ministers were to offer consultants 50 per cent it would still be just a 'drop in the ocean'.
This is despite NHS consultants already earning an average of £128,000 a year and the union separately demanding a 35 per cent pay rise for junior doctors.
The comments from Vishal Sharma and Mike Henley, chairman and deputy-chairman of the BMA's Consultants Committee, threaten to escalate the bitter dispute between ministers and health unions.
Disputes with nurses and junior doctors remain unresolved in England, raising the prospect of all three coordinating strikes for the first time.
Junior doctors have demanded a 35 per cent pay hike
Unlike nurses and junior doctors, consultants are yet to strike. But more than 30,000 are being balloted and look certain to vote in favour of action after 86 per cent did so in a test ballot in March. The vote closes at the end of June.
In comments made on the little known Senior Review podcast, Dr Sharma said: 'We now need to start from scratch and say what should a doctor in the UK in 2023 be paid. We can argue that it should be 50 per cent higher, the Government can argue whatever it should be. And I have to say, even 50 per cent... is still a drop in the ocean compared to America, Australia and other places.'
Dr Henley added: 'When you consider... the 17 years of training, the stress, difficulty and complexity of what you do, you're worth every penny.
'So the question to you lot is, 'What do we do?' Do we go on Newsnight and say, we demand a 50 per cent increase... well I would, obviously.'
Health Secretary Steve Barclay yesterday held firm on the Government's position,
