Milburn plans junior grade of consultant to take extra NHS work

The Health Secretary Alan Milburn is to introduce a new grade of "junior " hospital consultant to take on the extra NHS work rejected by consultants in England in their ballot this week, it was reported today.

The move will reduce the amount of private practice work that NHS doctors can undertake in their early years after becoming a NHS specialist, said the Financial Times.

It reflects Mr Milburn's determination to push through his planned NHS reforms despite the consultants' overwhelming two-to-one vote to reject the proposed new contract.

Following the announcement of the ballot result, Mr Milburn immediately warned consultants that there would be no renegotiation of the contract terms and no veto on the reform process.

A Department of Health spokesman said today: "We have said all along that if we couldn't get the contract through we would look at other means of achieving reform."

But the plan is likely to run into fierce opposition from the British Medical Association and from junior doctors nearing the end of their training who have long been against the idea of introducing a "sub-consultant" grade.

Mr Milburn was also said to be looking at restructuring the incentive payment system to provide greater rewards for specialists, such as surgeons and anaesthetists, who are prepared to commit themselves to NHS work through the new grade.

The move will be funded by the £300m a year that will be saved as a result of the new contract being rejected.

A BMA spokesman said the organisation was opposed to the idea, and that patients should have access to care from "fully qualified" consultants.