Hospital consultants in England reject government pay offer

Hospital consultants in England have narrowly rejected the government’s improved pay offer, a move that could lead to further strikes within the NHS.

In a referendum organized by the British Medical Association, consultants voted 51% to 49% against a deal that would have given them an additional 4.95% average pay rise for the final three months of the 2023-2024 financial year, on top of the 6% reward for the year they have already received.

Despite the rejection of the offer, which included plans to make the doctors’ pay review body more independent of ministers, advisers have not announced an immediate resumption of strikes. Instead, they are calling for renewed talks with ministers and NHS bodies to try to end a pay dispute that has led to a total of nine days of strike action since last July.

More details coming soon…