‘NHS heroes’ unpaid four months after starting up Covid-19 hospital: Trust emailed GPs proposed pay offer on their last day

Six GPs say Belfast Trust finally made them an offer - on a trainee doctor pay scale - on the very last day of their contract. They had been running the Covid-19 ‘step down’ hospital in The Ramada Hotel for seven weeks during the most tense days of lockdown.

The doctors worked 24 hour shifts from April 15 to June 4, supervising Covid-19 patients who had been discharged from hospital but were not yet fit to return home.

After repeated enquiries about pay, seven weeks after starting work their line manager emailed them a “proposed” pay package - on the same day their emergency care centre closed its doors. But some of the GPs responded that this proposal did not reflect their responsibilities or experience levels.

Since then, they claimed there was almost total silence from the Trust while they repeatedly reached out to secure an agreement. Four of the GPs had locum-type status and all their other work had dried up during lockdown.

On July 8 the Trust assured them the matter would be resolved within 24 hours, but when this failed to materialise in desperation they contacted the News Letter. Within hours a further offer was emailed - but this time excluding payments for overnight work.

Dr Neil Wilson, recently retired from practise on the Castlereagh Road, described their treatment as “dreadful”.

Being 66, he acknowledges that volunteering to work on the front line put him at much higher risk.

“We would probably have been willing to accept the initial offer, at the end of the day,” he said. “But it was the repeated failure by the Trust to engage that has been most disappointing.”

The trust initially “proposed” paying them £550 for an eight hour day shift, plus an overnight availability payment of £100. Additional overnight work would be paid at £64 per hour.

However as the going rate for a normal day-time locum shift is £500, Dr Wilson said, they felt that the offer was not adequate and suggested a flat rate of £800 for each 24 hours.

After the News Letter contacted the Trust, it re-sent the same offer of £550 plus £100, but this time excluded pay for additional overnight work. This would be paid “if required” once the negotiations end, the Trust said.

A Trust spokesman said: ”We would like to thank all those who provided professional support to ensure patient care could be prioritised during the Covid-19 pandemic. We apologise to clinicians who worked in the Ramada Hotel step down facility during a very unique set of circumstances and assure them we are in the process of addressing all outstanding payments.”

A BMA spokesperson said: “We are aware of the ongoing issues this group of doctors is having and are working to help them resolve the issue as quickly as possible.”

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