News alert / Specialist doctors reforms
The government and the British Medical Association have agreed an offer which they will put to specialist, associate specialist and speciality (SAS) doctors. The offer is intended to realign pay scales, improve career development and progression, and create more specialist roles in the NHS. This is separate to the headline pay uplift for 2023 to 2024, which was settled earlier this year through the pay review body process. The new offer includes plans for a £5m fund to encourage NHS employers to create specialist roles where appropriate. The BMA will put this to a vote in the new year, and no strike action will be called while members are consulted. If the offer is accepted by members, the BMA has agreed to end the use of its rate card for SAS doctors in England, which advises doctors on how much to charge for non-contractual work, including cover during strikes .
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