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Top doc slams senior medics demanding 35% pay rise despite earning £128k

03 July 2023 , 22:31
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Top doc slams senior medics demanding 35% pay rise despite earning £128k
Top doc slams senior medics demanding 35% pay rise despite earning £128k

NHS consultants are too rich to strike, a leading doctor has told his co-workers.

Dr David Randall described calls to give senior medics a 35 per cent pay rise as “eye-watering”.

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NHS consultants are too rich to strike, a leading doctor has told his co-workersCredit: Getty
Dr David Randall described calls to give senior medics a 35 per cent pay rise as 'eye-watering'
Dr David Randall described calls to give senior medics a 35 per cent pay rise as 'eye-watering'Credit: Isle of Man TV

Thousands in the British Medical Association are set to strike on July 20 and 21 — immediately after a five-day walkout by junior doctors.

Consultants earn £128,000 a year on average but say their pay has dropped by a third in real terms since 2008.

Dr Randall, a London-based kidney consultant, told a BMA conference: “A non-negotiable 35 per cent pay restoration is an eye-watering demand.

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“Many of us have sufficient financial security to strike indefinitely.

“Three weeks ago I was working nights, covering the strike.

"Two nurses asked if it was true I was earning £230 an hour, similar to what they were earning for the 13-hour shift.

"What could I say? It was true.

“They and other colleagues have accepted five per cent.

“Thirty-five per cent is the wrong goal and strikes the wrong approach.

"Let’s push for a rise but one that allows us to look our colleagues and patients in the eye.”

Dr Randall said he would not strike, adding: “Personally I don’t feel I’m badly paid.

“If we accept that economic growth has not kept pace with inflation and we’ve all got poorer, I don’t think doctors should be the only ones not to feel that pain.”

Nearly 21,000 consultants voted in favour of a strike last month — about a third of the 59,000 total.

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It means most operations and treatments will have to be postponed.

Dr Phil Banfield, chairman of the BMA council, yesterday warned the NHS’s 75th anniversary celebration “threatens to be a wake” amid the crisis.

Acas says it is ready to help resolve the row between the Government and junior docs.

Note: The BMA has denied that it wants a 35 per cent pay rise for consultants and said it is seeking an unspecified "above-inflationary" increase.

Sam Blanchard

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