This decision was informed by the results of both the BMA referendum and our own referendum, signalling a clear endorsement of the revised offer. All BDA Northern Ireland consultant members voted in favour of the pay offer, with a turnout of 65.2%. Similarly, 94.3% of the BMA Northern Ireland’s consultant members voted to accept the offer, with a 75.1% turnout.
A 24-hour consultants strike scheduled for 26 June was paused to give way for talks with the Department of Health (DoH) on consultant pay. The BMA reached a pay offer with the DoH that we and the BMA put to our members in referendums, and that we recommended consultant members accept.
Darren Johnston, Chair of NI Hospital Dental Services Forum:
“It was very pleasing to see that all votes cast by BDA NI consultant members were in favour of accepting the proposed deal. The BMA Northern Ireland Consultant Committee of which I am the BDA representative subsequently voted unanimously to officially accept the deal on behalf of medical and dental consultants. Great credit and thanks are due to the chair of this committee, David Farren, and his team for the time and effort that they put into obtaining the offer.
"The pay element of the new deal will be applied in the coming months and will be backdated to 1 March 2024. This means that Consultants in Northern Ireland will now be paid a salary that is actually marginally higher than their counterparts in England. While this deal does not achieve pay restoration it certainly is a step in the right direction.”
The new pay offer:
- Gives an uplift to all pay points
- Has the highest starting salary in the UK
- Maintains higher pay than England at each pay point
- Gives the highest percentage uplift in the UK this year
- Has fewer points, making it quicker to reach the top of the pay scale.
Full details of the Northern Ireland consultant’s offer can be found on the BMA’s website.