NHS staff must get the pay they deserve, warns BMA

Almost 1,500 doctors and members of the public have written to their local MP calling for better pay for senior hospital doctors following the Launch of the BMA’s Fairness on the Frontline campaign in March.

The BMA is calling for doctors and NHS staff to get the pay increase they deserve after the ‘woefully inadequate’ recommendation from the government of a one per cent pay settlement.

With Labour’s NHS Pay Award Bill being presented by Carolyn Harris MP in the House of Commons, the doctor’s union says that the government must listen to the voices of hardworking doctors, NHS staff and the public who support a pay rise. This comes as NHS workers continue to care for those with coronavirus as well as treating the millions on waiting lists – the largest ever backlog of care the NHS has known.  

A survey commissioned by the BMA in March also found that 60 per cent of the public felt that the country's doctors should get a pay rise in recognition of the risks they have faced during the pandemic, with nearly three-quarters believing such a rise should be between three - five per cent or more.

Dr Rob Harwood, BMA consultants committee chair, said: “This Bill could be an important opportunity to bring a renewed focus to the importance of giving a pay rise to hardworking doctors and NHS staff who have gone to incredible efforts in the past year. The overwhelming response to our campaign and sheer number of those writing to their MPs calling for a pay rise shows the strength of feeling that the one per cent proposed by the government is nowhere near good enough.

“The past 14 months have taken an enormous toll on the wellbeing of frontline staff, and with the largest backlog of care ever to contend with in the NHS’ history, doctors and NHS staff deserve at the very least, to be fairly rewarded for their contribution.  

“We believe that five per cent is a fair pay rise for hospital consultants in England - some of the country’s most experienced doctors - who have demonstrated incredible leadership and clinical excellence over the past year and who will continue to steer the ship in the challenging years ahead.  

“The government must not take NHS staff for granted and brush this issue under the carpet. They must instead listen to the voices of doctors, NHS staff and the public who believe that a fair and well-deserved pay rise is the only way forward.”