Specialty Doctor and Associate Specialist contract – in summary
Following negotiations between NHSe, employers and Health Departments from the devolved administrations and the BMA, the new contract for Specialty Doctors and Associate Specialists was introduced from 1st April 20087.
The contract was designed to deliver a new pay structure which would:
Improve patient access
Improve patient experience
Improve overall capacity
Broadly based on the 2004 consultant contract, the new contract created a new career grade, known as a Specialty Doctor. It aimed to make this grade a positive career choice for medical staff and one which would promote and encourage flexibility of movement in/out of training.
The structure of the new grade was for one grade progressing through two thresholds, moving from doctors being a competent practitioner with experience in a specialty rising up to be a highly competent practitioner with areas of expertise.
Those doctors currently at Associate Specialist or eligible to apply for regrading to this level had access to a new Associate Specialist contract. However when all of those currently entitled to access the Associate Specialist grade have done so this grade will be closed.
The new contract contained provisions for job planning and annual appraisal aimed at giving these career doctors a structured and rewarding career path.
The arrangements agreed for Scotland were that, although the new contract became operational from 1st April 2008, Scottish doctors moved on to the new contract at the pay point that they would have been on had the contract been implemented from 1st April 2007.
The proposed benefits of the new contract for the NHS were:
Improved ability to manage doctors time
Greater clarity of objectives and more opportunities to engage doctors in action to improve service delivery
Greater opportunity to arrange care in the evenings and at weekends
Guaranteed CPD for doctors contributing to improved delivery of patient care
The perceived benefits of the new contract for individual doctors were:
More input in to work organisation
Specific time allocated to development activities
More recognition for out of hours working
Integration of optional/discretionary points into salary scales
More transparent opportunities for pay progression
Significant pay increase for flexible working arrangements
Employers and SGHD officials have been working with BMA Scotland’s SAS Committee through the Specialty Doctor and Associate Specialist Contract Implementation Group to implement the new contract across Scotland as smoothly and efficiently as possible.