BMA Responds To Health Select Committee Report On NHS Deficits

The House of Commons Select Committee says that tackling NHS deficits in England by slashing the amount spent on training NHS staff is unacceptable. Responding to the report, Mr James Johnson, Chairman of Council at the BMA, says.

“The Select Committee is absolutely right to condemn cuts to NHS education and training. Too many health authorities are raiding training budgets as a quick fix to their financial problems. As a result, junior doctors are being prevented from taking essential courses in subjects like advanced life-saving, and vital academic posts in medical schools are at risk.

“This is both demoralising to staff and extremely risky. If doctors can’t go on courses essential to their training, and academic posts are lost, there will be real consequences for patient care. The government must restore the protection to NHS training budgets that existed previously.”

On the Select Committee’s finding that government estimates of the costs of staff contracts were unrealistic, Mr Johnson said: “New contracts for doctors pay them for the work they do and for providing high quality services. They have delivered direct benefits to patients. Where the government went wrong was not in paying staff fairly, but in underestimating how much work they do for the NHS.”