Locum doctors warned over pay dispute

LOCUM doctors have been warned that they could be struck off if they cancel shifts in an attempt to obtain more money from the NHS.

The General Medical Council (GMC) has issued guidance after agency medics were accused of an “organised campaign” to hold the NHS to ransom.

The crisis stems from new rules that attempt to clamp down on tax avoidance.

NHS trusts must now subtract tax and national insurance from pay packets at source from workers supplied to them via agencies or personal service companies.

Some doctors say this will mean a drop in income of up to 30 per cent. But others say earnings will only suffer if workers were paying too little tax in the first place.

Last week NHS managers said agency doctors were threatening to withdraw from shifts at late notice, un- less rates of pay rise, with some demanding an increase of as much as 56 per cent.

Health regulators say the actions amount to an “organised campaign” by doctors aware that hospitals could struggle to maintain safe services without them.

The dispute comes as hospitals attempt to prepare for a likely surge in pressure over the four-day Easter weekend, when many GP surgeries will be closed.

Now the GMC has issued guidance, warning doctors that any “unreasonable withdrawal of staff ” would conflict with their essential duty to provide safe care.

Susan Goldsmith, GMC deputy chief executive, said: “Health services are under severe pressure and we know that providers and the medical profession are working hard to cope.

“Any unreasonable withdrawal of staff may exacerbate that pressure, and we would expect doctors planning to withdraw their services would give sufficient notice in line with their contractual agreements.”

Meeting such obligations was part of the “core” guidance for doctors, she stressed, meaning failure to do so could see their fitness to practice come under threat.