How doctors could be paid £2,000 PER SHIFT under Labour’s ‘rip-off’ £1.1billion overtime plan to clear NHS backlog

By Liam On Oct 13, 2023

Doctors could charge more than £1,720 per shift to clear the NHS backlog under Labor’s plan to increase evening and weekend appointments.

The party says it would scrap non-dom tax status – which some UK residents use to reduce their tax bill by declaring their main residence is abroad – and use the £1.1 billion raised to Paying hospital staff more overtime to enable them to provide 2 million additional appointments per year.

But the policy could offer unions an opportunity to line their pockets by demanding premium rates demanded by the British Medical Association (BMA) to cover the extra overtime shifts needed to make up the £7.75 million shortfall to eliminate.

The BMA recommends that consultants should charge at least £215 per hour for overtime work between 7pm and 7am Monday to Friday.

These rates are much higher than the overtime cover rates traditionally agreed between doctors and most NHS trusts.

Labor says it would scrap non-dom tax status and use the £1.1 billion raised to pay hospital staff more overtime so they can attend 2 million extra appointments a year. Pictured: Labor leader Keir Starmer at the Labor Party conference in Liverpool on October 11th

Dr. James Steen, a BMA industrial relations officer and regional coordinator who sits on the national board, wrote on no problem.”

However, they have become more widespread in recent industrial action, with medical professionals accused of profiting from work stoppages by charging these premium BMA rates to cover striking colleagues.

Now union leaders say Labour’s new policies give them another opportunity to line their pockets – and they will try to raise tariffs further every year.

Dr. James Steen, a BMA industrial relations officer and regional coordinator who sits on the national board, wrote on “’

He also told members that such an agreement would not end the current pay dispute, which has seen medics miss 720 hours – the equivalent of an entire month – since March.

Junior doctors are seeking a 35 per cent pay rise and consultants want an above-inflation increase as a first step towards actually restoring salaries to 2008 levels.

The BMA rate card for consultants says they should bill the NHS at least £215 an hour for overtime from 7am to 11pm on Saturday and Sunday and 7pm to 11pm on weekdays.

This means they would earn at least £1,720 for an eight-hour shift.

Night work from 11pm to 7am should be charged at £269 per hour or £2,152 for the shift, the union adds.

Some consultants charged far more during the industrial action, with one earning £7,900 for a single shift, a Freedom of Information request revealed.

Critics of Labor’s policies say there will likely be a shortage of doctors and nurses willing to take on the shifts as they are already exhausted and overworked.

They have also rejected party leader Sir Keir Starmer’s claim that he could abolish NHS waiting lists in one term without a significant increase in funding.

A Conservative Party source said: “It’s the same old Labor Party trying to find the easy way out.”

“Labour plans would leave the NHS facing overtime rip-offs and doctors continuing to demand increases in their basic pay of up to 49 per cent – all of which would drive up inflation and leave ordinary, hard-working people worse off.” and slow down our economy, making it harder to fund public services such as the NHS.

“Only the Conservatives have the plan to support our NHS in making long-term decisions for a better future with more staff and the latest technology to tackle waiting lists.”

The British Medical Association says consultants should charge at least £215 an hour for overtime outside Monday to Friday between 7am and 7pm. This means they will benefit from record NHS waiting lists, which have risen to 7.75 million as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic and strikes. Pictured: NHS consultants on picket line outside Leeds General Infirmary in July 2023

England’s ever-growing backlog stood at 7.75 million in August – the equivalent of one in seven people. This includes nearly 400,000 people who have been stuck in the system for over a year and are often in pain

Official data shows 1,141,089 appointments have been postponed since the NHS industrial action began in December, involving staff including doctors, nurses, physiotherapists and paramedics

In a survey published today by pollster Find Out Now, 57 per cent of existing NHS staff with relevant jobs to clear waiting lists said they would be willing to work overtime at their current rate.

With a salary increase, the number rose to 87 percent.

A Labor spokesman rejected doctors’ plans for a new national overtime rate, which could lead to a row with the BMA.

He said: “That is completely wrong. “We will not negotiate a national overtime rate that is in line with the BMA’s tariff schedule.

“Where hospitals already provide weekend work, staff want to complete shifts at the regular overtime rate so they didn’t have to pay the BMA rate.”

What do the latest NHS performance figures show?

The overall waiting list grew by more than 65,000 to 7.75 million in August. This is up from 7.68 million in July.

There were 265 people I’ve been waiting more than two years Start treatment at the end of August, up from 277 in July.

The number of people wait more than a year At the start of hospital treatment, the number was 396,643, compared to 389,952 in the previous month.

33,107 people had to wait more than 12 hours in emergency departments in England in September. The number is up from 28,859 in August.

A total of 125,829 people Waited at least four hours since the approval decision in September, up from 120,120 in August.

Only 71.6 percent of patients were affected seen within four hours last month on A&Es. NHS standards state that 95 per cent should be admitted, transferred or discharged within the four-hour window.

In September the average Category one response time – Calls from people with life-threatening illnesses or injuries – was 8 minutes and 31 seconds. The target time is seven minutes.

The ambulance response took an average of 37 minutes and 38 seconds Calls of the second category, such as burns, epilepsy and strokes. This is almost twice as long as the 18 minute goal.

Response times for Category three calls – such as B. Late stages of labor, minor burns and diabetes – an average of 2 hours, 15 minutes and 59 seconds. Nine out of ten ambulances are expected to arrive within two hours for these operations.