Consultants in England have voted narrowly against an offer aimed at resolving a long pay dispute with the British government.
The British Medical Association said its members rejected the offer by 51.1%, in light of the ballot result.
The BMA consultant committee added that it would give the government an opportunity to improve it to a point that may be ‘acceptable’ to members.
Dr Vishal Sharma, who chairs the committee, said: ‘The vote has shown that consultants do not feel the current offer goes far enough to end the current dispute and offer a long-term solution to the recruitment and retention crisis for senior doctors.
‘It backs up conversations we’ve had with colleagues in recent weeks, who felt the changes were insufficient and did not give them confidence that pay erosion would be addressed over the coming years.
‘In addition, they were concerned about the fairness of the offer and how it impacted different groups of doctors.’
Dr Sharma also said concerns about changes to professional development time and time for research and teaching were raised.
He added: ‘In the coming days we will be further engaging with consultants, and seeking talks with Government to explore whether the concerns expressed by our members during the referendum process can be addressed.’
Medics from the Hospital Consultants and Specialists Association (HCSA) rejected the offer earlier this month – meaning the NHS has been beset by strikes for over a year now.
Walk outs by various staff groups including doctors, nurses, paramedics and physiotherapists have led to more than 1.3 million appointments, procedures and operations being rescheduled.
Consultants have staged four rounds of strike action in the current dispute, including an unprecedented joint walk out with junior colleagues.
Junior doctors in England are currently being balloted to see if they want to continue strike action.
Health and Social Care Secretary Victoria Atkins said: ‘I hugely value the work of NHS consultants and I am disappointed that after weeks of constructive negotiations the BMA has, by the narrowest of margins, rejected this fair and reasonable offer.
‘I want to build on our progress on waiting lists and for us all to be able to focus our efforts on offering patients the highest quality care.
‘The government is therefore carefully considering next steps.
‘We already know the kind of progress our NHS staff can make in the absence of strikes – waiting lists fell by more than 95,000 in November, the first month without industrial action for over a year and the biggest decrease since December 2010 outside of the pandemic.’
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