One in four doctors refuse overtime to avoid five-figure tax bills
With millions waiting months for treatment, doctors are turning down shifts out of fear they could be stung with exorbitant tax bills due to a cap on pension contributions which would leave them effectively paying to go to work.
And despite being given three years to prepare, an overhaul of the NHS Pension Scheme remains months behind schedule and does not know when it will catch up.
As NHS waiting lists stand at almost 7.5 million, eight months after Labour took power, Telegraph Money can reveal:
A quarter of doctors have reduced their overtime because of potential five-figure tax bills, leading to a 10pc reduction in NHS capacity.
62,000 crucial pension statements are now six months overdue, despite extra NHS spending on overtime and additional staff.
A statutory deadline given three years in advance will be missed, leaving NHS workers and retirees in the dark over how much their pension will be.
Thousands of doctors and dentists are in line for first-time tax bills.
Labour swept to power last July with a huge majority after promising a raft of reforms in an election manifesto entitled 'Change'.
The 136-page document included a firm pledge to save the NHS and cut waiting lists by providing an extra 40,000 appointments a week in England alone.
However, waiting lists have fallen by just 3pc since Labour took power and currently stand at 7.4 million. More than three million people have waited over 18 weeks for treatment.
Experts are now warning that the refusal to tackle draconian legislation and a pension scheme racked with delays is obstructing progress – with serious knock-on effects for patient care.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
16 minutes ago
- The Independent
Hunger-driven A&E admissions spiral amid cost-of-living crisis
Hungry patients are overwhelming NHS emergency departments at unprecedented levels, researchers claim. Admissions to hospital Accident and Emergency (A&E) units because of hunger have more than tripled, rising by nearly 219 per cent in five years, figures suggest. Analysis of NHS data shows a lack of food was the fastest growing cause of A&E admissions in England between 2018-19 and 2023-24, as food prices and poverty spiralled. As the cost-of-living crisis gripped the UK, experts repeatedly warned that households were being plunged into poverty, with food bank use soaring and charities finding parents going hungry so their children could eat. Health experts warned in 2022 that millions of people were facing a 'significant humanitarian crisis', exacerbated by rocketing fuel bills. In 2018-19, 70 patients needed emergency care for hunger, the statistics show, but the figure shot up to 230 after five years – a 218.5 per cent increase. Paula Lingard, of the ID Band Company, which analysed the NHS data, said: 'The significant rise in admissions related to lack of food is particularly concerning and may reflect growing food insecurity in England, highlighting the importance of addressing basic needs as part of our approach to public health.' Recently, the Resolution Foundation think tank said the outlook for living standards for UK households remains bleak for the rest of the 2020s, which it said could become 'the first decade of the modern era to witness no improvement in disposable incomes across Britain'. Household debts have continued to rise since last year. The biggest actual increase in A&E admission numbers over the five years was down to adverse reactions to standard medical procedures. Cases rose from 40,881 to 103,295 over the five years – a 144.9 per cent increase. Environmental pollution-related illnesses caused the second-biggest proportionate rise in admissions, increasing by 191 per cent in five years. Patient numbers tripled from 16 to 48. Surgical errors drove the third-highest percentage jump, with emergency figures rising 179.9 per cent. NHS records show 4,094 patients needed urgent treatment after medical mishaps in 2023-24, against 1,418 in 2018-19. Cardiovascular equipment problems more than doubled, from 325 to 775. But cases of self-harm fell, with deliberate drug overdoses dropping by nearly half between 2018 and 2024, from 12,298 to 6,499. Shotgun and rifle assault injuries dropped from 56 in 2018-19 to just 17. The Independent has approached the Department for Health and Social Care for comment.
BBC News
an hour ago
- BBC News
Wolverhampton poetry event will mark World Suicide Prevention Day
A poetry group formed by colleagues at an NHS trust will be hosting an event to mark World Suicide Prevention (Un)spoken Word poetry group, formed by colleagues at Black Country Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, will host a free event next month at the Community Hub at Wolverhampton Rail say its aim is to reduce stigma and encourage open conversations about mental health to help reduce the number of will be invited to share and hear poems about mental health, wellbeing, hope and recovery. It will be hosted by local poet David Stocks, who also works as strategic suicide prevention coordinator at Black Country event, on Wednesday 10 September between 15:00 BST and 17:00, is free to attend but tickets must be is the latest event for the four-year-old group, during which time it has welcomed people across the Black Country to online and in-person events to share many attendees since 2021 having never put pen to paper before, the group has managed to publish its own poetry collection. Mr Stocks said: "It is time to break the taboo about speaking about mental health and that's where (un)spoken word comes in."Black Country Healthcare, which works with health and voluntary partners across Dudley, Sandwell, Walsall and Wolverhampton, will also be sharing advice on their social media will provide support, resources and how to approach conversations about suicide, as part of World Suicide Prevention Day. Follow BBC Wolverhampton & Black Country on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
DAN HODGES: This is the appalling real reason Labour are evacuating 300 children from Gaza to be treated by the NHS. Do not fall for their cynical games
In a few weeks' time, a group of sick children will be evacuated from Gaza and brought to the UK for treatment on the NHS. The move – reportedly organised jointly by Health Secretary Wes Streeting and Home Secretary Yvette Cooper – will see up to 300 young patients evacuated, along with a parent or guardian and siblings.
