Hospital Consultants and Specialists Association

Last updated
HCSA
Hospital Consultants and Specialists Association
Founded1948
Headquarters Basingstoke, Hampshire
Location
Members
Decrease2.svg 3,137 (2022) [1]
Key people
President Dr Naru Narayanan, FRCOG

Chair of the Executive Dr Bernhard Heidemann, FRCA

General Secretary Dr Paul Donaldson
Affiliations TUC, General Federation of Trade Unions (UK)
Website www.hcsa.com

HCSA - the hospital doctors' union (Hospital Consultants and Specialists Association) is a nationally recognised professional association and trade union in the UK dedicated solely to hospital consultants, specialty doctors and core/specialty hospital doctors in training and Foundation grades ("junior doctors"), originally established in 1948 as the Regional Hospital Consultants and Specialists Association. [2]

Contents

Medical Students can also join as associates. [3]

It was granted national collective bargaining rights for all grades of hospital doctors in England by NHS Employers on 22 December 2016. This is the first time any trade union for doctors other than the British Medical Association has been nationally recognised by the NHS. [4]

In 1974 the association's rules were amended to extend membership rights to all senior hospital doctors, and its members voted for a new name, the Hospital Consultants and Specialists Association, to reflect this change. [2]

HCSA has been affiliated to the Trades Union Congress (TUC) since 1979. [5] It is also affiliated to the General Federation of Trade Unions (UK). [4]

The association has admitted hospital specialty doctors in training ("junior doctors") since a rule change announced on 1 May 2013. [6]

On 28 April 2017 members voted for a rule change that extended membership further to encompass all post-graduate hospital doctors, including Foundation grades for the first time. [7]

On 25 June 2013 HCSA attended is first meeting of the NHS Staff Council, a body containing representatives of staff-side unions and NHS employers. [8] [9]

In April 2018, the HCSA AGM endorsed Dr Claudia Paoloni as President-elect. When she took up her post in 2019 she became the first ever woman President in the association's history. [10]

The association publishes a bi-monthly magazine for members, Hospital Consultant & Specialist. [11]

Organisational structure

Every four years HCSA members elect members to the ruling Council, with representation based on relevant Constituencies as determined by the Council, which meets every six months. Currently there are 13 geographical constituencies, each with the right to elect up to four representatives to the Council. Day-to-day decisions are made by a standing committee, known as the Executive, which meets regularly and is drawn from Council members who are appointed to National Officer roles. [12]

The Executive's current membership comprises: [13]


In addition, HCSA is represented at the TUC and within the NHS Staff Council by its general secretary:

2014-15 NHS pay dispute

On 28 July 2014 a consultative ballot of HCSA members was announced over the government's decision to ignore a Review Body on Doctors' and Dentists' Remuneration (DDRB) recommendation of a 1 per cent pay rise for all NHS staff. [14]

An extraordinary meeting of the HCSA executive met to consider the results of the ballot, which closed on 18 August 2014, after 80 per cent of those voting backed some form of industrial action. [15] The executive subsequently voted to hold a formal ballot on industrial action. [15]

In the wake of the consultative ballot results HCSA President Professor John Schofield said: "Doctors have only very rarely indicated any willingness to undertake industrial action, and it demonstrates the strength of feeling within our profession. We will continue to listen to our members and represent their views to NHS Employers. I hope that we can encourage further dialogue between the government, employers and unions to avoid the possibility of action.” [15]

HCSA members mounted industrial action in the form of "work to rule" alongside other health unions in October 2014. [16]

2015 Consultants' Contract

On 16 July 2015 the DDRB published its recommendations following an independent review of the Consultants' Contract and the Doctors in Training Contract. [17]

In the wake of the report, on 30 July 2015, HCSA stated its position In Favour of A Safe Seven-Day Service, highlighting the need for the principles of safety, fairness and work-life balance to be maintained in any changes. [18] [19]

2015 Junior Doctors Dispute

On 5 October 2015, then HCSA General Secretary Eddie Saville set out the association's position calling for A Fair Deal for Doctors In Training. [20]

Explaining the HCSA position, he said: "As with our position on the consultant aspect of the DDRB proposals currently being pursued by the government and employers, this stance is guided by the principle that any successful outcome must balance safety, fairness and work-life balance. It must also meet the recruitment and retention test needed to ensure that the health service remains properly staffed. What's more any attempt to impose contractual changes on doctors in training is completely unacceptable, flying in the face of the basic tenets of trade unionism - that negotiation not imposition is the way to bring about a positive outcome that delivers for trainee doctors, patients and the health service as a whole." [20]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scottish Trades Union Congress</span> Scottish trade union federation

The Scottish Trades Union Congress (STUC) is the national trade union centre in Scotland. With 40 affiliated unions as of 2020, the STUC represents over 540,000 trade unionists.

The British Medical Association (BMA) is a registered trade union and professional body for doctors in the United Kingdom. It does not regulate or certify doctors, a responsibility which lies with the General Medical Council. The BMA has a range of representative and scientific committees and is recognised by National Health Service (NHS) employers alongside the Hospital Consultants and Specialists Association as one of two national contract negotiators for doctors.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Royal College of Nursing</span> British union for nurses

The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) is a registered trade union and professional body in the United Kingdom for those in the profession of nursing. It was founded in 1916 as the College of Nursing, receiving its royal charter in 1928. Queen Elizabeth II was the patron until her death in 2022, King Charles III continued the royal connection and became patron in 2024. The majority of members are registered nurses; however student nurses and healthcare assistants are also members. There is also a category of membership, at a reduced cost, for retired people.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Association of Anaesthetists of Great Britain and Ireland</span> Professional association for anaesthetists in the United Kingdom and Ireland

The Association of Anaesthetists, in full the Association of Anaesthetists of Great Britain and Ireland (AAGBI), is a professional association for anaesthetists in the United Kingdom and Ireland.

In the United Kingdom, junior doctors are qualified medical practitioners working whilst engaged in postgraduate training. The period of being a junior doctor starts when they qualify as a medical practitioner following graduation with a Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery degree and start the UK Foundation Programme. It culminates in a post as a consultant, a general practitioner (GP), or becoming a SAS Doctor, such as a specialty doctor or Specialist post.

Agenda for Change (AfC) is the current National Health Service (NHS) grading and pay system for NHS staff, with the exception of doctors, dentists, apprentices and some senior managers. It covers more than 1 million people and harmonises their pay scales and career progression arrangements across traditionally separate pay groups, in the most radical change since the NHS was founded.

A Review Body in the United Kingdom is a government mechanism to replace collective bargaining for certain groups of employees in the public sector, for example doctors and nurses in the National Health Service. A Review Body makes independent recommendations on pay after considering evidence from the relevant parties, with cherished expectations that the Government will honour those recommendations and the unions will not pursue national industrial action.

Nursing in the United Kingdom is the largest health care profession in the country. It has evolved from assisting doctors to encompass a variety of professional roles. Over 700,000 nurses practice, working in settings such as hospitals, health centres, nursing homes, hospices, communities, military, prisons, and academia. Most are employed by the National Health Service (NHS).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of the National Health Service</span>

The name National Health Service (NHS) is used to refer to the publicly funded health care services of England, Scotland and Wales, individually or collectively. Northern Ireland's services are known as 'Health and Social Care' to promote its dual integration of health and social services.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Modern Records Centre, University of Warwick</span> Archive centre of the University of Warwick

The Modern Records Centre (MRC) is the specialist archive service of the University of Warwick in Coventry, England, located adjacent to the Central Campus Library. It was established in October 1973 and holds the world's largest archive collection on British industrial relations, as well as archives relating to many other aspects of British social, political and economic history.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Society of Radiographers</span> UK trade union

The Society of Radiographers (SoR) is a professional body and trade union that represents more than 90 percent of the diagnostic and therapeutic radiographers in the United Kingdom. The College of Radiographers (CoR) is a charitable subsidiary of the Society, they are collectively known as the Society and College of Radiographers (SCoR).

Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust (NUH) is one of England's largest acute teaching trusts. It was established on 1 April 2006 following the merger of Nottingham City Hospital and the Queen's Medical Centre NHS Trusts. They provide acute and specialist services to 2.5m people within Nottingham and surrounding communities at the Queen's Medical Centre (QMC) and the City Hospital campuses, as well as specialist services for a further 3-4m people from across the region.

Healthcare in England is mainly provided by the National Health Service (NHS), a public body that provides healthcare to all permanent residents in England, that is free at the point of use. The body is one of four forming the UK National Health Service, as health is a devolved matter; there are differences with the provisions for healthcare elsewhere in the United Kingdom, and in England it is overseen by NHS England. Though the public system dominates healthcare provision in England, private health care and a wide variety of alternative and complementary treatments are available for those willing and able to pay.

Doctors in Unite is a trade union for doctors in the United Kingdom. It was formerly known as the Medical Practitioners' Union (MPU) before its affiliation with Unite.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2015 junior doctors contract dispute in England</span>

A junior doctors contract dispute in England led to industrial action being taken in 2015 and 2016. A negotiation between NHS Employers and the main UK doctor's union, the British Medical Association (BMA), had been overshadowed by the Secretary of State for Health, Jeremy Hunt, threatening to impose certain aspects. The BMA balloted members in November 2015 and industrial action was scheduled for the following month. The initial action was suspended, although further talks broke down. Junior doctors took part in a general strike across the NHS in England on 12 January 2016, the first such industrial action in 40 years. Junior doctors again withdrew their labour for routine care on 10 February. On 26 April 2016, junior doctors withdrew from emergency and routine care, the first time this had happened.

Judith Hulf is a British anaesthetist. She was the president of the Royal College of Anaesthetists from 2006 to 2009.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ramesh Mehta (paediatrician)</span> Indian-born British paediatrician

Ramesh Dulichandbhai Mehta is an Indian-born British Paediatrician at Bedford Hospital, and president of the British Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (BAPIO), in the United Kingdom.

Since May–June 2022, a series of labour strikes and industrial disputes have occurred in various industries of the United Kingdom's economy as workers walked out over pay and conditions. The strikes took place with rising inflation, and demands for pay increases that would keep pace with this inflation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2022–present National Health Service strikes</span> Healthcare strike

The 2022–present National Health Service (NHS) strikes are several ongoing industrial disputes in the publicly funded health services of the United Kingdom.

Ahalia Navina Evans is a British former child and adolescent psychiatry consultant who has been the Chief Workforce, Training & Education Officer of NHS England since April 2023. She was previously the chief executive officer of East London NHS Foundation Trust between 2016 and 2020 and chief executive of Health Education England between 2020 and 2023.

References

  1. ↑ "Hospital Consultants and Specialists Association Form AR21 for year ended 30 September 2022" (PDF). GOV.UK. Retrieved 26 July 2023.
  2. 1 2 "65 Historic Years" Archived 2015-10-19 at the Wayback Machine , HCSA, Retrieved on 26 October 2015.
  3. ↑ "Join". www.hcsa.com. Retrieved 2022-06-07.
  4. 1 2 "Alternative doctors union allowed to negotiate pay and contracts". Health Service Journal. 4 January 2017. Retrieved 5 January 2017.
  5. ↑ "HCSA and the TUC" Archived 2015-10-19 at the Wayback Machine , HCSA, Retrieved on 26 October 2015.
  6. ↑ "HCSA welcomes hospital doctors in training", HCSA, 1 May 2013. Retrieved on 26 October 2015.
  7. ↑ "Foundation trainees welcomed into HCSA family". www.hcsa.com. Retrieved 2017-05-31.
  8. ↑ "HCSA to take its seat on the NHS Staff Council" Archived 2016-03-05 at the Wayback Machine , The Hospital Consultant and Specialist, page 5, June 2013. Retrieved on 26 October 2015.
  9. ↑ "NHS Staff Council" Archived 2015-12-13 at the Wayback Machine , NHS Employers. Retrieved on 26 October 2015.
  10. ↑ "HCSA AGM votes in first ever woman President".
  11. ↑ "Hospital Consultant & Specialist, August 2015" [ permanent dead link ], Hospital Consultant & Specialist, August 2015. Retrieved on 26 October 2015.
  12. ↑ "HCSA rules", HCSA, April 2014. Retrieved on October 26 2015.]
  13. ↑ "Structure of the HCSA", HCSA, June 2022. Retrieved on 7 June 2022.
  14. ↑ "HCSA asks members for their views on pay in consultative ballot", HCSA, 28 July 2014. Retrieved on 26 October 2015.
  15. 1 2 3 "HCSA to ballot doctor membership over industrial action", Hospital Dr, 24 August 2014. Retrieved on 26 October 2015.
  16. ↑ NHS strike: clinics close and operations cancelled in dispute over pay", The Guardian, London 13 October 2014. Retrieved on October 26 2015.
  17. ↑ "Contract reform for consultants and doctors and dentists in training – supporting healthcare services seven days a week", Review Body on Doctors' and Dentists' Remuneration, 16 July 2015. Retrieved on 26 October 2015.
  18. ↑ "HCSA launches campaign for a safe seven-day service", HCSA, 30 July 2015. Retrieved on October 26 2015.
  19. ↑ "Doctors really do want seven-day working", Health Service Journal, 7 September 2015. Retrieved on 26 October 2015.
  20. 1 2 "HCSA calls for A Fair Deal for Doctors in Training", HCSA, 5 October 2015. Retrieved on October 26 2015.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.