Doctors take action in overtime rate cut dispute

Doctors at a number of West Midlands hospitals will stop taking on extra shifts from Friday over plans to cut overtime rates.

University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust (UHB) told staff last week that it would stop paying enhanced rates for non-contracted hours.

At a union meeting called by the British Medical Association (BMA) on Thursday, more than 250 doctors agreed to start a formal dispute and consult over further action.

The trust said despite making progress in filling staff vacancies, it still needed to reduce an "unsustainable amount of money" spent on extra shifts.

The trust added that the rates saw colleagues being paid differently for the same work, and there would be exceptions in some departments to maintain patient safety.

Several doctors at the trust, which runs the Queen Elizabeth, Good Hope and Heartlands hospitals in Birmingham as well as Solihull Hospital, told the BBC the decision had already affected patient safety in intensive care.

A critical care consultant said he was left on his own after other doctors cancelled shifts, assuming that the reduced payments had already been introduced.

One doctor said that patients had waited up to 72 hours in the emergency department at Heartlands because of staff shortages, and they were concerned the changes would make matters worse.

The BMA said the changes would add to patient waiting times, with 121,000 patients currently waiting for treatment.

Dr Rinesh Parmar, chair of the BMA's regional consultants' committee, said doctors who gave up family time to take on extra shifts were "extremely disappointed".

The move will affect resident doctors, junior doctors and consultants.

Dr Parmar said the emergency department and acute medicine were critical areas.

"One consultant was having to cover for staff that he didn't have, to keep patients safe.

"If doctors do not work extra shifts, then there is no possibility of getting the ever-growing waiting lists down", he said.

Dr Parmar claimed that there had been no impact assessment on patients - despite the trust saying that there had been.

He also said that the trust had failed to consult with the local negotiating committee.

The doctors' meeting also heard that bullying and dishonesty concerns had not been resolved, after last year's Bewick report which found a "culture of fear" at the trust.

The inquiry was ordered after a BBC Newsnight investigation into University Hospitals Birmingham found concerns among current and former staff.

Dr Parmar said: "The culture that Bewick talked about still persists. This is proof that the trust does not value its staff."

In a statement, UHB said that "sustained recruitment" over the past 18 months had left it with fewer vacancies than at any time in the past seven years.

Despite this, it said the amount spent on non-contracted shifts remained "unsustainable".

It added that the need for extra shifts was kept under daily review, and where needed, higher rates "will continue to be authorised, to ensure that patient safety and staff wellbeing are at the forefront of our consideration.”

Follow BBC Birmingham on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.