Senior NHS consultants are commanding extraordinary overtime payments of up to £200,000 annually as part of initiatives to reduce mounting waiting lists, according to recent revelations from BBC News. The investigation, encompassing 41 hospital trusts in England, unveiled consultants receiving £188 per hour for work beyond their contracted obligations.
The financial implications of these overtime arrangements have become increasingly significant, with the NHS’s overtime expenditure doubling to £1 billion over the past decade. Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust reported a consultant earning more than £208,000 in overtime for 128 days’ work, highlighting the escalating costs of addressing healthcare backlogs.
Health Secretary Wes Streeting expressed concern over these rates, emphasising the need for prudent NHS spending. The average consultant’s earnings reached £139,936 in the year to June, with basic salaries ranging from £100,000 to £132,000 following recent pay negotiations to resolve industrial action.
The British Medical Association has advocated for structured overtime rates, recommending £150 per hour during weekday hours, £200 for weekends and evening shifts, and £250 for overnight duties. These rates were particularly influenced by the need to provide coverage during junior doctors’ strikes.
The NHS waiting list currently stands at 7.6 million patients, markedly higher than the pre-pandemic level of 4.4 million. Hospital trusts defend these overtime payments as essential for managing waiting lists and ensuring adequate medical coverage, with some facilities reporting multiple consultants earning over £150,000 in additional payments.
Labour’s response includes plans to systematise overtime payments as part of a strategy to increase healthcare accessibility, proposing 40,000 additional weekly appointments through enhanced weekend and evening services. The situation reflects broader challenges in NHS resource allocation, with £3 billion of recent budget increases potentially directed towards strike-resolving pay agreements.
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