CONSULTANTS in Coventry and Rugby have pocketed nearly £3 million in overtime payments – more than a third higher than the amount paid out in 2013.
University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust (UHCW) paid its 396 consultants £2,880,599 in ‘sessional rates’ in the financial year 2015/16.
A Freedom of Information (FOI) request by the Observer has revealed consultants were paid £2.1 million in weekend sessional rates and £747,431 for those on weekdays, including evening shifts.
The figures also show a £1 million increase from the financial year 2013/14, in which consultants were paid £1.2 million for weekend overtime work and nearly £560,000 for extra shifts during the week.
Although not classed as ‘overtime’ by the UHCW Trust, ‘sessional rates’ are those paid to employees for extra four-hour long shifts undertaken outside their normal contracted hours.
But a spokesperson from Trust – which runs University Hospital in Coventry and the Hospital of St Cross in Rugby – has defended the figures.
They said: “These payments are made to consultants who hold extra clinics in the evenings and weekends, meaning our patients are seen and treated efficiently.
“Our hospitals experience a huge demand on both emergency and elective care, so whilst this is not ideal, it is sometimes necessary to run additional clinics.
“We acknowledge that this is a significant amount of money, but like many other Trusts across the country we only run these clinics to ensure the best quality care for our patients.”
The average NHS consultant earns a basic annual salary of between £76,000 and £102,400, depending on their length of your service.
This can also be topped-up with overtime and ‘sessional rates’ payments.
The British Medical Association argue the figures show a shortage of consultants and a need for a long-term plan to assess the problem.
Spokesman Dr Keith Brent said: “Consultants are routinely working four to six hours of overtime on standard rates, as well as several unpaid hours each week.
“In the short term, hospitals should reduce the reliance on overtime by recruiting the number of staff required to do the job.
“But what we urgently need to see is a long term strategy for the NHS which addresses the workforce, workload and funding challenges which are overwhelming our health service.”
