Pay rise call over emergency medics shortage

The Public Accounts Committee said the improvement of A&E services has been “hampered” by the lack of emergency consultants.

They criticised both the Department of Health and NHS England for not having a “clear strategy for tackling the chronic shortage of A&E consultants”.

The committee’s latest report on emergency care suggests that doctors could be enticed to work at struggling hospitals if they were paid more.

“Many hospitals, especially those facing the greatest challenges, struggle to fill vacant posts for A&E consultants,” the report states.

“There is too great a reliance on temporary staff to fill gaps, which is expensive and does not offer the same quality of service.”

The MPs welcome plans to provide 24/7 consultant cover in hospitals but said they were concerned about the “slow” pace of implementation.

The Department also drew criticism for the cash it injected into the system last winter, after the committee said it was “not convinced” the money was used to best effect.

Chairwoman Margaret Hodge said: “Any attempt to improve emergency admissions services in the NHS is being completely stymied by the chronic shortage of specialist A&E consultants.

“Nearly one fifth of consultant posts in emergency departments were either vacant or filled by locums in 2012. There are also major problems in training enough doctors in emergency medicine.

“What we found amazing is that neither the Department nor NHS England has a clear strategy to tackle the shortage of A&E consultants.

“Struggling hospitals, such as those placed in special measures, find it even harder to attract and retain consultants. There are currently no incentive payments to make working in these hospitals a more attractive prospect.

“So, we raised with the department the possibility of paying consultants more to work at struggling hospitals.”

Paul Flynn, chair of the British Medical Association consultants’ committee, said: “The Government needs to urgently address issues such as workload pressures, resourcing and work-life balance if the NHS is to attract doctors in training and the consultant numbers that are needed, not least because spending large amounts on locum doctors is not financially sustainable in the long run.”

Health Minister Dr Dan Poulter said: “It takes six years to train an A&E consultant, and there is no easy fix – but our long-term plans are robust, increasing the number of training places by 75 next year, and planning for all trainee doctors to spend time in A&E. We are also looking at making an A&E career more attractive as part of our negotiations on the consultant contract.”