NHS England has attacked senior doctors for charging “rip off” rates for overtime, after a BBC investigation found pressure to cut waiting lists is allowing some consultants to make more than £200,000 a year for additional work.
That is nearly double the average basic pay for a full-time consultant in England.
Many of the consultants earning the most are thought to be part-time, allowing them to work significant amounts of overtime for rates exceeding £200 an hour – more than four times normal pay.
NHS England said the sums were “totally unacceptable”.
In a statement to the BBC, the body responsible for running the health service in England said: “It is totally unacceptable for hospitals to be forced to pay rip-off rates – over which they have limited control.”
