The government is to review the Clinical Excellence Awards system across the UK with a view to making them more “affordable”.
Health secretary Andrew Lansely has asked the Review Body on Doctors’ and Dentists’ Remuneration to lead the review and it will report by July 2011.
The government says the DDRB will work closely with a range of ‘external stakeholders’, including NHS organisations, the BMA and the independent committees which make awards in the devolved administrations.
Lansley said: “We want to continue to reward and recognise those individuals who give outstanding patient care and go beyond the call of duty, but we must ensure that the system is effective and affordable. The NHS must recognise its responsibilities in the current financial climate as the largest public service in the country and this review will ensure that Clinical Excellence and Distinction Awards are in line with other public sector pay and incentive schemes.
“A more transparent and sustainable awards system will allow the NHS to focus its resources to benefit patients and drive up standards to give us a health service that delivers outcomes among the best in the world.”
CEAs are intended to financially reward consultants who perform over and above the standard expected of their NHS role. They’re given for a range of achievements, from research and innovation through to an outstanding commitment to quality of care and leadership. They are consolidated into pay and are pensionable.
The review will consider the need for incentives to encourage and reward excellent quality of care, innovation, leadership, health research, productivity and contributions to the wider NHS.
There is already a freeze in place on the cash amounts of Clinical Excellence Awards for 2010/11, which was recommended by the DDRB earlier this year. That freeze will continue for 2011/12 and 2012/13.
Consultants did not receive a pay rise for 2010/2011 and are now subject to a two-year pay freeze.
Dr Mark Porter, chair of the BMA’s consultants Committee, commented: “The BMA will engage with this review, which provides an opportunity to highlight the value of award schemes to patient care. These schemes exist to promote quality, efficiency and innovation across the whole NHS, all of which are key aims of the recent health White Paper.
“It is worth noting that Clinical Excellence Award Schemes have already been subject to review in recent years, with the conclusion that they are beneficial to the NHS. The innovative practices and research activity that they encourage not only benefit patients, but also frequently save the NHS money and bring benefits to the economy.”
The number of CEAs handed out nationally was halved in the 2010 round. Only 317 national awards have been given to senior doctors in England and Wales in 2010 in comparison to 601 in 2009.
In 2009-10, the NHS paid £202.2 million to consultants for Clinical Excellence and Distinction Awards, of which 564 consultants received new awards, totalling some £20m. Most of the expenditure on the scheme funds existing awards.
Who received a national CEA in this year’s round? Read more.
Read more on the value of CEAs.
Tags: CEAs
