Junior doctors and other medics accept pay deals in Wales

Pay offers for junior and specialist doctors in Wales have been accepted.

The BMA said on Friday its consultants, junior doctors and SAS (specialist, associate specialist, and specialty doctors) committees in Wales have all accepted the Welsh Government’s pay offers after members voted in favour of the deals, putting an end to three separate disputes.

In a referendum, 96% of junior doctors voted to accept a 7.4% additional uplift, taking the total to a 12.4% uplift for junior doctors for the 23/24 financial year, which will be back-dated to April 2023.

The union said 86% of consultants voted to accept a revised consultant pay scale which will improve early years pay and increase career average pay to retain the senior workforce.

Meanwhile, 82% of SAS members voted to accept the offer which will see increases of 6.1-9.2%, as well as an additional uplift for associate specialists – senior doctors who are on closed contracts.

The offers follow weeks of pay negotiations which began in April after three strikes by junior doctors and planned industrial action by senior doctors.

Dr Oba Babs-Osibodu and Dr Peter Fahey, co-chairs of the BMA’s Welsh junior doctors committee, said: “This pay deal and the emphatic vote by members to accept it shows how far we have come on our journey to fight for the future of our profession. For too long, junior doctors have been undervalued.

“We chose to stand up and be counted, refusing to accept further cuts to our pay.

“While we are pleased with the progress we have made, the fight for full pay restoration is far from over.”

Dr Stephen Kelly, chairman of BMA Cymru Wales’s consultants committee, said: “We’re pleased to have been able to reach a fairer settlement for senior doctors in Wales and we hope that this significant offer will help to retain the doctors currently working in Wales as well as attracting more, which will ultimately be beneficial for patients.”

Dr Ali Nazir, chair of BMA Cymru Wales’s SAS doctor committee, said: “For far too long the invaluable contribution of SAS doctors in Wales has been disregarded and so reaching a fairer deal for this experienced part of the workforce is very much welcomed. We will continue to fight for the rights of SAS doctors.”

The announcement came as junior doctors in England continue a five-day strike in a separate pay dispute.

Darren Hughes, director of the Welsh NHS Confederation, said: “NHS leaders will welcome this development and are grateful to all parties for working in social partnership to reach this outcome.

“Staff are the most important thing in the NHS, so we all need to work together to ensure they feel valued, so we can provide the best care for patients.

“The health service relies heavily on its consultant, SAS and junior doctor workforce and these professionals have helped to keep the most life-critical services afloat over the last few years of intense pressures.

“NHS organisations will now work with the Welsh Government and partners to implement the deal.

“We hope this can act as a fresh start for all involved.”