First the good news. Your 'manager' is now a clinical manager (but not necessarily a doctor). There is additional pay for work done between
19:00 and 07:00 - time and a third. (Didn't say it was wonderful news, just good). You cannot be forced to work outside these hours. You
progress by right up the pay spine (but see later). You get an extra day off next year and two the year after. There is equity for all whether
freshly appointed or senior in terms of conditions of service. More sensible appeals systems have been agreed.
Now the bad news. Firstly, and perhaps this is cosmetic but I hate it, you still get programmed activities. Secondly, there is still a
REQUIREMENT that everyone wanting to do any private practice has to do an extra PA first. Payments for on-call vary between ridiculous
and derisory. Then comes a very curious statement I quote in full, as I don't think I understand it:
" Consultants would still be able to undertake private work without offering this additional session but would not fulfil pay progression
criteria. Not all trusts will wish to offer these extra PAs but if they do they must be offered equitably between all appropriate consultants, not
just those who wish to do private practice."
So you do any private practice - you don't get any pay progression unless you work 44 hours. One ingrowing toenail a year down the road
and you are stuffed. Many Consultants with modest private practice will lose out. It is not clear when you can again be considered.
Bear in mind that what we have been shown so far is just the headlines. The full contract, supporting T&Cs and disciplinary procedures
have not been released yet and the devil is always in the detail.
The nastiest bit is a remarkable piece of bullying. Again, I don't need to do anything but quote it:
"We have also achieved the right for all consultants who express an intention to take up the contract by the end of September 2003 to have
pay rises backdated to April 2003, provided they seek to agree a job plan within three months. This should ensure that the £133 million set
aside for pay this year will reach consultants."
So you have five weeks to rush in and accept an unfinished deal that has not even been agreed by your Trades Union. And forget the
money set aside for last year. (Incidentally, £133m is not nearly enough should all Consultants suddenly decide to accept.)
Paul Miller, in a curious echo of Peter Hawkins' words, says that the deal is not perfect but the best deal available.
I say it is as bad as the last one. Your professionalism will be lost, and you will become hourly workers. You are still beholden to a manager.
It may be a nurse, it may be a physiotherapist. Time and a third for out of hours work is still an insult, if we must go down this route. As can
be seen from other discussions, SAS doctor pay is linked to Consultant pay - what will happen to them? All that has happened is that a few
pathetic bits of filler have been thrown at the wall to try and hide the mortar holes. Consultants remain undervalued and completely
misunderstood. Our successors will not thank us for agreeing any of this. The 'old' contract serves many different colleagues well and
should be the basis for negotiation, not this nonsense.
That's a no, by the way. This horse is now flogged well past its dead-by day. We must start looking seriously at Chambers and starting to
lobby for a refundable insurance-based system.
Best wishes,
Rowley Cottingham
[log in to unmask]
http://www.emergencyunit.com
|