Doctors’ dispute with the Government over planned changes to their pensions yesterday got worse after a British Medical Association survey showed almost two out of three would back some form of industrial action.
The ruling BMA council declined to order an immediate ballot of its 130,000 members until an emergency meeting on 25 February. Instead, it settled for a formal letter to the Government rejecting its latest offer and demanding the reopening of negotiations. It said it would “work up detailed plans on taking industrial action”. Last month, the BMA accepted that the Government had made its “final” offer and that talks had gone “as far as they can”.
This coincided with the Royal College of Nursing declaring it was moving to oppose the Health and Social Care Bill, citing concerns about privatization and staffing levels, and the head of the BMA warned of a “perfect storm” heading for the NHS, with rising waiting lists and “impossible” efficiency savings, in an interview in the New Statesman.
The pensions dispute is over changes that will see doctors pay more in contributions, work longer and receive less, in line with Government proposals for all public-sector pensions. The BMA calculates that a doctor aged 25 today who becomes a consultant will pay more than £240,000 extra over a lifetime and work eight years longer (from the current retirement age of 60 to 68) to receive an annual pension of £70,000. But the average pension in the public sector is about £7,000 and senior doctors know there would be little public support for a BMA-led dispute.
The committee chairman Dr Tom Black said recently, “It's not going to be pleasant and we won't come out looking like knights in shining armor. That's our job, this is the BMA, and our job is to fight for the members.” Dan Poulter, a Conservative MP and hospital doctor, said, “As a member of the BMA, I am disappointed by this hypocrisy. On the one hand we are hearing of the difficulty of finding the efficiencies the NHS needs. Yet, on the other, we have unreasonable opposition to reforms to pay and pensions that are both necessary and fair.” Under the proposals, doctors will have to work beyond 60 to earn the same pension, although anyone within 10 years of retirement will not see any change in their situation.
The last time doctors went on strike was in the 1970s over junior doctors' working conditions. Consultants also worked to rule in protest at a government plan to remove private patient beds from hospitals. The BMA has threatened action several times since but has always stopped short of taking it. Only 20 per cent said they would be willing to strike, with the majority backing a campaign of action short of striking, such as a work-to-rule protest. More than of a third of doctors aged 50 or over said they intended to retire early if the changes went ahead. A spokesman for the BMA added, “The strength and scale of feeling among doctors are abundantly clear. They feel let down and betrayed, and for many this is the final straw.”
Dr Hamish Meldrum, chairman of BMA Council said, “Forcing doctors to work to almost 70 is one of our most serious concerns as it could put pressure on doctors to work beyond the age at which they feel competent and safe. The Government must urgently reconsider its damaging plans.”
But a Department of Health spokesman said, “Under the current scheme, a typical consultant retiring at 60 will receive a pension of £48,000 a year for life. In addition, they will receive a tax-free lump sum of around £143,000 – this equates to a pension pot of over £1.7m in the private sector. This is unsustainable.” A government source said, “It seems a bit rich for doctors to be complaining about cuts and patient care when they leave the NHS as millionaires.” Over the past decade, the average consultant has seen their pay rise by 54 per cent, with less qualified doctors enjoying a rise of 30 per cent. Their pay has recently been frozen, with the average GP now earning about £110,000. “Doctors and consultants who are among the highest earners in the NHS have benefited hugely from the current final salary scheme arrangements compared to other staff groups,” the spokesman said.
Reducing doctor burnout through team-based documentation