THE government made the final offer and said “no more talks”. We are united, stronger together. We cannot and will not back down,’ Consultants Committee Chair Vishal Sharma concluded to a standing ovation at a packed rally of striking consultants yesterday afternoon.
He began his speech at BMA house, in Tavistock Square in London saying: ‘We are all under pressure. We want new consultants but we can’t recruit.
‘Overseas employers offer better pay and conditions. Unless things change, we risk consultants leaving in their droves.
‘Strike action is a last resort. The government will not listen. For 15 years we’ve asked politely. For 15 years they will not listen. They are offering pay cut, after pay cut.
‘We’ve written to every secretary of state. They have refused to listen, refused to talk to us. Waiting lists have increased and there are less consultants.
‘No firm offer has been made. We are here because of the government and their action or rather their inaction.
‘We make hundreds of decisions a day that impact on care.
‘Is £14 per hour a sufficient reward? We have lost pensions. Medical students graduate with debts of thousand of pounds. All they have to look forward is to be a consultant.
‘7,000 doctors have left the NHS – that is why we are making a stand.
‘We are making every effort to make sure patients are safe.
‘The key part of why we are taking action is because patients are suffering.’
A speaker from the floor, retired consultant, Anna Athow, also got a standing ovation when she called for a general strike to bring the Tory government down.
Earlier, there were very lively picket lines of NHS Consultants outside the London hospitals.
At University College Hospital on Thursday early morning respiratory consultant, Toby Hilmand commented: ‘I’m here to reflect the anger at the erosion of the NHS as a whole system over the last 15 to 20 years.
‘Pay is one symptom of a much larger problem of underinvestment in the NHS as a whole, and in particular underinvestment in the staff who run it.
‘Pay and conditions is the only topic that industrial action can be mobilised on, so they become the focus of this dispute.
‘It’s only the tip of the iceberg of the trouble affecting the NHS.
‘The buck stops with consultants, the person whose name is on the end of the bed and on the clinic door, who takes responsibility for patient care.
‘Without consultants you can’t run the NHS.
‘Consultants have to live within 10 miles of the hospital to provide 24-hour cover. Today, I couldn’t afford to live where I live now because of property prices and pay has not kept up.’
Dr Luxmivelauthar, consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist, LNC chair at Newham general hospital said: ‘Newham performs 5,600 deliveries a year, one of the busiest hospitals in London, with a very high risk population.’
She added, ‘Consultants are not valued. The managers earn more than we do. The main thing is the number of consultants is not enough. Instead of increasing the numbers of managers we need more consultants.
‘There is zero respect for us. The way they speak to us is appalling.
‘I did 90 hours in the last 6 days, and they want me to do another session.
‘We feel burnt out. We need to attract more consultants to join our departments. There is a huge issue with recruitment and retention.
‘Just a fifteen minute slot for assessing new patients in an antenatal clinic is not enough. These patients are high risk. Extra time is required to assess their needs properly.
‘I am also a 100% supporter of the NHS. The way forward is not just about pay but to show the importance of the NHS from school age up.’
Dr Luciana Rubinstein, sexual health consultant said: ‘I don’t think this is only about consultant salaries, it’s about saving the NHS.
‘There is nothing in the government’s new NHS long term workforce plan about paying people properly.
‘If they don’t keep the consultants and remunerate them properly then they are not there to train the trainees.’
Her colleague chipped in: ‘That’s what the Tories want – to dismantle the NHS. That’s why they don’t care.’
She continued: ‘The Prime Minister said that the increases in waiting times is due to industrial action. This is not true at all. The waiting lists were more than 4 million before Covid.
‘All the NHS workers, from consultants, to nurses to junior doctors to porters should have good working condition. Lots of us do unpaid work. We need offices and admin support. They have to invest in staff.’ She concluded: ‘The NHS must continue free at the point of use, as founded.’
Consultants were out on the picket line at King’s College Hospital in opposition to the Tory government’s attacks on the NHS and on the pay of health service workers.
Dr Philip Kelly, Consultant Acute Physician, and chair of the LNC negotiating committee, spoke to News Line: ‘The reason we are on strike today is that our pay has been eroded by 40% since 2008.
‘The NHS is the best system of healthcare in the world, and we have some of the best staff in the world. Regardless of who you are, you are entitled to the best medical care.
‘This goes back to when they broke up the NHS into trusts in the 1990s. Then they cut public health budgets to near destruction. Then when Covid came, no one was in charge. They would like to get their hands on the ‘‘hidden value’’ within the NHS, including data and lots of other things.
‘Do people feel confident that the NHS will be able to continue its great work? I’m not so sure. That’s why we’re out here defending it. The NHS is our shared endeavour – the cathedral to our civilisation.’
James Crane, Consultant Endocrynologist at the hospital, said: ‘The mood on the picket line remains resolute in the fight for the restoration of our pay which has declined by 35%, and in the face of another pay cut, in the form of a 6% offer by the Tories and the so-called independent review body the DDRB.
‘We will not be giving up until we are guaranteed a reform of the DDRB and a road map to the restoration of fair pay.’
Sarah Nour, Anaesthetic Consultant, said: ‘I’m fed up of the government saying how much they value us while in practice treating us like dirt.’
Kevin O’Kane, consultant in Acute Medicine told News Line: ‘Prime Minister Sunak blamed the long waiting lists on the doctors’ strike. In fact it’s because of 14 years of underfunding and that’s down to the government. The number of consultants and scanners in this country is lower than in any other European country.’
