Consultant Contract in Wales: Progress with Securing the Intended Benefits
Consultant Contract in Wales: Progress with Securing the Intended Benefits
The
first consultant contract was introduced in the UK in 1948 and essentially
remained unchanged until new contract negotiations started in 2000. Following various negotiations a Welsh
contract became binding on all consultants in Wales on 1 December 2003.
The
Auditor General for Wales report Consultant
Contract in Wales: Progress with Securing the Intended Benefits was
published in February 2013. The report found that consultant recruitment and
retention have improved since the amended contract was introduced in 2003, with
the number of full-time consultants increasing by 37 per cent between 2004 and
2011. However, the report also found that:
- some consultants are
still working excessively long hours, with one in six are working at least
46.5 hours and often exceeding the 48-hour European Working Time Directive
limit; and
- the amended contract
has not driven service modernisation in the way originally envisaged.
The
report also highlighted that less than half the consultants who responded to a
survey felt that the amended contract and job planning had led to better
clinical practice, and even fewer of them thought it had improved patient care
and consultants’ working methods.
The
Public Accounts Committee undertook
a short inquiry into issues raised by the Auditor General for Wales report.
Business type: Committee Inquiry
Reason considered: Senedd Business;
Status: Complete
First published: 01/08/2013
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