The number of clinical excellence awards handed out nationally has been 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.
The ACCEA, which runs the awards scheme, has blamed reduced affordability.
There are 12 levels of CEA with the highest three levels - silver, gold and platinum - being awarded nationally. Level 9, or bronze, can be awarded locally or nationally. A bronze recipient is paid £35,484 a year, silver £46,644, gold £58,305 and platinum £75,796.
CEAs are intended to financially reward consultants who perform over and above the standard expected of their NHS role.
In the 2010 round, the Advisory Committee on Clinical Excellence Awards received 1065 applications for bronze, 820 applications for silver, 183 applications for gold and 138 applications for platinum awards. Of these 317 were given awards, with 189 receiving bronze, 84 silver, 23 gold and 21 platinum.
The highest profile doctor to receive platinum in this round was Lord Ara Darzi, author of the former government’s influential High quality care for all: NHS Next Stage Review Final Report. Another well-known doctor was Jonathan Fielden, the former chair of the BMA’s consultants committee, who received a silver award.
A spokesperson for ACCEA said: “There are fewer awards this year than in the past few years. This is a result of reduced affordability in the light of the fact that fewer consultants have left the scheme - through retirement or for other reasons - than anticipated, reducing the funds for reinvestment as well as wider financial constraints.”
The level of CEA awards were frozen for 2010-2011.
Dr Mark Porter, chairman of the BMA’s consultants committee, said: “This is a matter for regret - it’s highly disappointing that so many talented and dedicated consultants have missed out on awards because of factors entirely beyond their control. The scheme exists to ensure that quality care is promoted across the NHS, not just in a few centres of excellence.
“We have strongly protested on behalf of individual applicants, and will continue to express our belief in the value of CEAs.”
Some trusts have also put pressure on their consultants to forgo their CEAs in order to help local finances. And, in Scotland, there has been a strong campaign to scrap the scheme.
Stephen Campion, chief executive of the HCSA, commented: “CEAs, and their predecessor merit and discretionary points, are an integral and long-standing element of hospital consultants’ salaries and terms and conditions of service.
“They are not ‘performance bonuses’ as some uninformed critics have argued. But we know from the leaked document prepared by the Foundation Trust Network earlier this year that they are seen as a target to cut consultants’ pay in order to save money. That the number of national awards has been slashed by 50% this year on the grounds of affordability raises a number of questions about the integrity of the scheme itself.”
The 2011 round of CEAs will open in September and close on 10 December 2010. The ACCEA says that all consultants currently holding an award who received it in the 2007, 2002, 1997 or 1992 rounds should be ‘reviewing’ in the coming round.
Read a full listing of the 317 doctors who received national awards in 2010.
What? The consultant who screwed GPs gets platinum award?!!