Press release: Consultant contract no vote is a missed opportunity says NHS management

31 Oct 2002

Reacting to the results of the UK wide ballot1 on a new consultant contract, Gill Morgan, chief executive of the NHS Confederation said;

"Whilst we welcome the positive vote in Scotland and Northern Ireland, the NHS Confederation is disappointed that the contract has been rejected by English and Welsh consultants. Along with the BMA, we believed it was a good deal for individual consultants, for the NHS, and for patients.

"The no vote is a missed opportunity to take forward a win-win offer, which would have enabled consultants' NHS work to be properly rewarded, allowed managers to more effectively plan services, and provided patients with more convenient care.

"The issues raised by the BMA seem to indicate that consultants have real concerns about being managed. However, to deliver a modern health service which meets the needs of patients, it is essential that the work of doctors is effectively planned and managed. This means it is less possible for doctors to be as independent and autonomous as they've been in the past. Research shows this is an international, not just a UK problem.

"We are committed to working with the profession to find a way to balance doctors' traditional demands for autonomy with the increasing need to plan services around patients.

"To claim that the contract would force all consultants to work unsocial hours simply misunderstands the proposals. Under the new arrangements, any scheduled work in the evenings or at weekends would have been part of a mutually agreed work programme, and would count toward the consultants' working week."

Responding to claims that English and Welsh no vote would jeopardise the NHS modernisation programme, Gill said:

"NHS organisations already work on a daily basis with consultants on ways to improve and modernise the service. The contract was designed to assist this process - but the no vote won't stop these joint efforts to deliver first class patient care."

Ends

Notes for editors

1. British Medical Association (BMA) http://www.bma.org.uk/ap.nsf/Content/__Hub+ccsc+contract
2. NHS Confederation report: The problem of unhappy doctors: what are the causes and what can be done? (April 2002) available on request from the media office (as below).
3. The NHS Confederation represents the organisations that make up the NHS. Our members include the majority of NHS trusts, primary care trusts and health authorities in England; trusts, health authorities and local health groups in Wales; trusts and NHS boards in Scotland; and health and social services trusts and boards in Northern Ireland.
   

Contact details

1. For further information please contact the NHS Confederation media office on 020 7959 7239 or 07880 500726 (out of hours).
2. The NHS Confederation has an ISDN line for radio interviews (020 7959 7283). To arrange an ISDN interview please contact the media office as above

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