13.09.12
BMA criticises regional pay plans in South West
A group of trusts planning to introduce regional pay have been criticised by the BMA for being “short-sighted”.
The 20 trusts in the South West are proposing to fix pay, terms and conditions of health staff in the region. The plans include cutting pay and increasing hours.
The BMA believes the move would waste resources and could make it harder for some areas to recruit high-quality staff, as well as potentially leading to demoralised staff and an increase in regional variations in quality of care.
Dr Mark Porter, chair of council at the BMA, said: “If this initiative is allowed to go ahead, other regions are likely to follow suit, taking us further away from a truly national health service.
“We do not want to see skills drain away from certain areas of the country, particularly in more remote regions.
“This is a distraction from serious attempts to address the massive financial challenges facing the NHS.
“Instead of wasting resources on short-term measures for which there is no evidence, and that will only serve to demoralise staff, we should focus on ways to genuinely improve efficiency and quality.”
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