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The Independent
24-07-2025
- Health
- The Independent
Poll of the day: Do you think resident doctors are fairly paid for the work they do?
Junior doctors are staging a walkout – but are they right to demand more pay? Talks between the British Medical Association (BMA) and the government have broken down, triggering a five-day strike starting on Friday and the threat of monthly walkouts until a deal is reached. The government has already awarded a 5.4 per cent pay rise this year, bringing salaries for foundation doctors to between £38,831 and £44,439, and up to £73,992 for those in specialist training. But the BMA argues this still falls short of where pay should be, after more than a decade of real-terms decline. It is calling for pay to rise to between £47,308 and £54,274 for foundation doctors, and up to £90,989 at the top end of specialist training – a 29 per cent increase phased in over time. Health Secretary Wes Streeting has called the strike 'completely unjustified' and says the current pay offer is fair. But the BMA insists current salaries don't reflect the demands of the job or the debt many junior doctors carry from medical school. The NHS Confederation warns that each 0.1 per cent pay rise across the service costs an extra £125 million a year, and with 75,000 junior doctors in England, meeting the BMA's request could run into the billions. So, are junior doctors being underpaid – or is their demand simply unaffordable?
Daily Mail
22-07-2025
- Health
- Daily Mail
Wes Streeting accuses British Medical Association of showing 'complete disdain for patients' as union abandons peace talks and vows to plough on with five day doctors strike
Resident doctors have vowed to plough on with their five-day strike after abandoning peace talks with Wes Streeting. The health secretary last night accused the British Medical Association of showing 'complete disdain for patients' and described their walkout as 'unjustified '. Health leaders were also quick to round on the union, warning their 'crushing' and 'misjudged' action would cause widespread disruption and harm. Rory Deighton, acute director at the NHS Confederation, which represents health organisations, said: 'The BMA will clearly bear the responsibility for the distress being caused to patients. 'While we recognise the concerns that resident doctors have, we believe the strikes are a misjudged course of action given the large pay rise that resident doctors have already received.' Up to 50,000 resident doctors - formerly known as junior doctors - are set to strike from 7am on Friday in pursuit of a 29 per cent pay rise. They have already received above inflation pay rises for the past three years, worth an extra 28.9 per cent in total, following previous strikes. This includes an inflation-busting rise this year of 5.4 per cent, which is the most generous in the public sector. The BMA and Department of Health and Social Care held talks over the weekend with the aim of negotiating a settlement and averting industrial action. Mr Streeting had refused to budge on pay but offered a number of other financial concessions relating to the cost of exams, equipment and training. The BMA's delegates took the offer to the union's resident doctors committee but members voted to reject it this afternoon and immediately announced they would proceed with the walkout. It said Mr Streeting's offer 'did not go far enough to warrant calling off strikes' and lacked any 'substantive proposal on both pay and non-pay elements'. Dr Melissa Ryan and Dr Ross Nieuwoudt, co-chairs of the BMA's RDC, said: 'Disappointingly, what we saw would not have been significant enough to change the day-to-day financial situation for our members. 'The non-pay aspects of last year's pay deal have still not been delivered, which has shaken the confidence of our members that any further non-pay elements would be honoured.' Mr Streeting said: 'After a 28.9 per cent pay hike in the last three years and the highest pay rise in the public sector two years in a row, strike action is completely unjustified, completely unprecedented in the history of British trade unionism and shows a complete disdain for patients and the wider recovery of the NHS.' Rachel Power, chief executive of the Patients Association, said: 'This latest strike adds even more uncertainty for people who are waiting in pain, with anxiety, and without answers, and will leave more patients vulnerable and unsupported as their health and wellbeing deteriorates. 'It demonstrates a worrying disregard for the very real toll this further disruption will have on people's health and their confidence in the healthcare system.' The announcement came after health bosses warned striking doctors will cause patients 'undoubted harm' and a new poll revealed the majority of the public now oppose walkouts. The latest YouGov poll reveals more than half (52 per cent) of people in the UK either 'somewhat oppose' (20 per cent) or 'strongly oppose' (32 per cent) the idea of resident doctors going on strike over pay. Meanwhile, only a third (34 per cent) of the 4,954 adults surveyed either 'somewhat support' (23 per cent) or 'strongly support' (11 per cent) doctor strikes. YouGov said the proportion supporting the strike over pay has dropped five points since it last asked the question in May. Then, 48 per cent opposed resident doctors striking, while 39 per cent supported them taking action. Daniel Elkeles, chief executive of NHS Providers, said of the BMA's announcement: 'This decision is a crushing blow for patients and for the NHS. 'We urge resident doctors to help trusts minimise the harm by notifying them of their plans for strike days. 'For example we must ensure that there are enough staff for all the cancer, transplant and maternity care that cannot and must not be delayed. 'Another huge worry is the cost. 'It is vital that consultants providing cover take NHS rates of pay rather than insisting on inflated BMA rates that are simply unaffordable. 'We say to the BMA 'think again' and pull back from this hugely damaging decision.' The BMA is demanding NHS hospitals pay consultants £6,000 to provide on-call cover for striking junior colleagues this weekend. This would be even higher if they have to given advice over the phone or attend hospital in person. NHS England said it is 'vital' people do not put off seeking care during the strikes and managers are working hard to maintain 'as much routine care as possible'. Patients should continue to attend appointments as planned unless they are told otherwise by their local trust, it added. The BMA says the pay of resident doctors has been cut in real terms since 2008 and it wants to achieve full pay restoration.
Sky News
28-06-2025
- Health
- Sky News
Hundreds of NHS quangos to be axed - as plans unveiled for health funding to be linked to patient feedback
NHS funding could be linked to patient feedback under new plans, with poorly performing services that "don't listen" penalised with less money. As part of the "10 Year Health Plan" to be unveiled next week, a new scheme will be trialled that will see patients asked to rate the service they received - and if they feel it should get a funding boost or not. It will be introduced first for services that have a track record of very poor performance and where there is evidence of patients "not being listened to", the government said. This will create a "powerful incentive for services to listen to feedback and improve patients' experience", it added. Sky News understands that it will not mean bonuses or pay increases for the best performing staff. NHS payment mechanisms will also be reformed to reward services that keep patients out of hospital as part of a new 'Year of Care Payments' initiative and the government's wider plan for change. 2:04 Speaking to The Times, chief executive of the NHS Confederation Matthew Taylor expressed concerns about the trial. He told the newspaper: "Patient experience is determined by far more than their individual interaction with the clinician and so, unless this is very carefully designed and evaluated, there is a risk that providers could be penalised for more systemic issues, such as constraints around staffing or estates, that are beyond their immediate control to fix." He said that NHS leaders would be keen to "understand more about the proposal", because elements were "concerning". Health Secretary Wes Streeting said: "We will reward great patient care, so patient experience and clinical excellence are met with extra cash. These reforms are key to keeping people healthy and out of hospital, and to making the NHS sustainable for the long-term as part of the Plan for Change." In the raft of announcements in the 10 Year Health Plan, the government has said 201 bodies responsible for overseeing and running parts of the NHS in England - known as quangos - will be scrapped. These include Healthwatch England, set up in 2012 to speak out on behalf of NHS and social care patients, the National Guardian's Office, created in 2015 to support NHS whistleblowers, and the Health Services Safety Investigations Body (HSSIB). Royal College of Nursing General Secretary chief executive Professor Nicola Ranger described the move as "so unsafe for patients right now". "Today, in hospitals across the NHS, we know one nurse can be left caring for 10, 15 or more patients at a time. It's not safe. It's not effective. And it's not acceptable. "For these proposed changes to be effective government must take ownership of the real issue, the staffing crisis on our wards, and not just shuffle people into new roles. Protecting patients has to be the priority and not just a drive for efficiency." Elsewhere, the new head of NHS England Sir Jim Mackey said key parts of the NHS appear "built to keep the public away because it's an inconvenience". "We've made it really hard, and we've probably all been on the end of it," he told the Daily Telegraph.
The Guardian
28-06-2025
- Health
- The Guardian
NHS hospital funding could be tied to patient satisfaction under government plans
Money for hospitals could be linked to patient ratings, it has been reported, as one of the health bosses tasked with implementing the government's 10-year plan for the NHS warns it faces an existential threat unless it reconnects with the public. The measure, under which services could lose a proportion of their funding if patients were unhappy, is reportedly part of a package due to be announced by the prime minister next week. But clinicians have expressed concern that the proposal risks performing surgery on the NHS with a blunt instrument, rather than the scalpel required. According to the Times, patients would be contacted shortly after their treatment. If they reported themselves dissatisfied, about 10% of 'standard payment rates' would be diverted to a local 'improvement fund'. The report suggested it could first be implemented in areas of the service with a poor record of care. Maternity services are said to be among the first to test the system after the health secretary, Wes Streeting, launched a national investigation into NHS maternity services in England, saying 'maternity units are failing, hospitals are failing, trusts are failing, regulators are failing'. But Matthew Taylor, the chief executive of the NHS Confederation, said: 'None of our members have raised this idea with us as a way of improving care and, to our knowledge, no other healthcare system internationally adopts this model currently. 'Patient experience is determined by far more than their individual interaction with the clinician and so, unless this is very carefully designed and evaluated, there is a risk that providers could be penalised for more systemic issues.' It came as the new head of NHS England said the service has 'built mechanisms to keep the public away'. Sir Jim Mackey told the Telegraph: 'We've made it really hard, and we've probably all been on the end of it. You've got a relative in hospital, so you're ringing a number on a ward that no one ever answers. The ward clerk only works nine to five, or they're busy doing other stuff; the GP practice scrambles every morning. 'It feels like we've built mechanisms to keep the public away because it's an inconvenience.' Mackey warned that the disconnect between NHS services and the public could result in the loss of the public health service altogether. 'The big worry is: if we don't grab that, and we don't deal with it with pace, we'll lose the population. If we lose the population, we've lost the NHS. For me, it's straightforward: The two things are completely dependent on each other.' Streeting said on Wednesday that the government's 10-year plan would also aim to 'address one of the starkest health inequalities', which he claims is the unequal access to information and choice when it comes to healthcare. Mackey said: 'We've got to somehow reorientate it; think about how do we find people who need us, how do we stop thinking 'it's going to be a pain in the arse if you turn up because I'm quite busy' and instead think about how do we find out what you need and get it sorted.'
Yahoo
28-06-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Plans unveiled for NHS funding to be linked to patient feedback
NHS funding could be linked to patient feedback under new plans, with poorly performing services that "don't listen" penalised with less money. As part of the "10 Year Health Plan" to be unveiled next week, a new scheme will be trialled that will see patients asked to rate the service they received - and if they feel it should get a funding boost or not. It will be introduced first for services that have a track record of very poor performance and where there is evidence of patients "not being listened to", the government said. This will create a "powerful incentive for services to listen to feedback and improve patients' experience", it added. Sky News understands that it will not mean bonuses or pay increases for the best performing staff. NHS payment mechanisms will also be reformed to reward services that keep patients out of hospital as part of a new 'Year of Care Payments' initiative and the government's wider plan for change. Speaking to The Times, chief executive of the NHS Confederation Matthew Taylor expressed concerns about the trial. He told the newspaper: "Patient experience is determined by far more than their individual interaction with the clinician and so, unless this is very carefully designed and evaluated, there is a risk that providers could be penalised for more systemic issues, such as constraints around staffing or estates, that are beyond their immediate control to fix." He said that NHS leaders would be keen to "understand more about the proposal", because elements were "concerning". Read more from Sky News Health Secretary Wes Streeting said: "We will reward great patient care, so patient experience and clinical excellence are met with extra cash. These reforms are key to keeping people healthy and out of hospital, and to making the NHS sustainable for the long-term as part of the Plan for Change." In the raft of announcements in the 10 Year Health Plan, the government has said 201 bodies responsible for overseeing and running parts of the NHS in England will be scrapped. These include Healthwatch England, set up in 2012 to speak out on behalf of NHS and social care patients, the National Guardian's Office, created in 2015 to support NHS whistleblowers, and the Health Services Safety Investigations Body (HSSIB). Elsewhere, the new head of NHS England Sir Jim Mackey said key parts of the NHS appear "built to keep the public away because it's an inconvenience". "We've made it really hard, and we've probably all been on the end of it," he told the Daily Telegraph. "The ward clerk only works nine to five, or they're busy doing other stuff; the GP practice scrambles every morning."
