Responding to the deal struck between the government and the British Medical Association (BMA) and Hospital Consultants and Specialists Association (HCSA) Matthew Taylor, Chief Executive of the NHS Confederation, said

“The BMA, HCSA and government are to be congratulated for reaching a resolution for this long-running dispute which has such an impact on patients and the NHS, as well as on senior doctors themselves.

“NHS leaders will hope that BMA and HCSA members will vote to accept the offer made to them by the government so that further disruption to patient care can be brought to an end.

“Also, they hope that this development will set an important precedent in other parts of the medical workforce which are in dispute with the government on pay. With winter around the corner, the last thing health leaders will want is fresh walkouts to lead to thousands more appointments and procedures needing to be cancelled during what is typically the NHS’s busiest time of the year.

“It is important that local budgets are protected for this and any further developments on pay and that the commitments in the Long Term Workforce Plan around growing the NHS’s headcount continue to be supported. Leaders recognise that the last year of strikes have been hugely challenging for the NHS’s workforce and so they are eager for these to be resolved as soon as possible.”