Show you value the medical profession
LAST Tuesday (July 24) the UK Government outlined the pay award for doctors in England. Doctors there are angry that the UK Government so swiftly announced an award below that recommended by an independent body; and for consultants in particular, the lowest of the whole public sector. Not backdating the awards to April is unprecedented and a gross insult which effectively cuts the “award” in half.
The Welsh Government has announced that it is “reflecting on the recommendations.” We are calling on the Welsh Government to take this opportunity to demonstrate how much they value the medical profession in Wales and to do something clearly different to Westminster.
The review body’s recommendations gives the Welsh Government the chance to show the clear difference between working in Wales and England. It’s a chance for the Welsh Government to prove it is genuinely committed to the long-term plan of ensuring a staffed, sustainable health service for patients in Wales.
We have a recruitment and retention crisis and an ageing population in Wales, and despite successive pay freezes over a number of years, doctors have been working longer hours to the detriment of their own health at times to ensure that patients get the care they deserve. This is a chance for the Welsh Government to reward that hard work.
This is a golden opportunity for the Welsh Government and will help to ensure that working as a doctor in Wales is viewed as an attractive career choice. It is vital that this opportunity is not missed so that the profession and health service are secure for the future.
Rachel Podolak Cyfarwyddwr Cenedlaethol (Cymru)/National director (Wales)
BMA Cymru Wales conservative with a small “c” and that is why whatever Lenin might have thought, Mr Corbyn and Momentum have a very long way to go before they obtain popular approval. H Thomas Neath