The British Medical Association (BMA) is calling for unprecedented talks over “suppressed pay rates” for extra shifts

London leaders of the trade union representing doctors in England have written to NHS hospital trust bosses to ask for new pay negotiations to commence.

Leaders of all 36 British Medical Association (BMA) local negotiating committees (LNCs) in London are calling for higher pay rates for work done outside contracted hours.

The BMA claims that hospital trusts across London have collaborated to suppress rates of pay for extra shifts, setting rates which are lower than in other parts of the country and do not attract doctors to work, leaving gaps in rotas unfilled and patients at risk.

They say that the imposed London medical rate cap conflicts with the recent pay deals for hospital consultants and SAS doctors. The deal stated that when groups of employers collaborate on arrangements for extra-contractual work – as is with the London rate cap – employers must now work with the BMA through the joint LNCs on those arrangements.

Kevin O’Kane, the chair of the BMA London regional council and lead of one of the 36 BMA LNCs said: “That doctors in London are working for rates that they have not been able to negotiate is unacceptable. When doctors take on extra work and sacrifice their already limited free time they deserve to be paid fairly, and in a way that reflects the increased costs that come from living in London.

“The London medical rate cap is unjust, and we must find a way to ensure doctors are fairly paid for the extra shifts they do.

“This is also in the interests of hospital trusts in the capital and the patients we all serve; by agreeing a London-wide set of rates, we create stability for trust managers and deliver a reliable supply of doctors to provide the care patients need.”

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