Stephen Preston

Cardiothoracic pathologist. Views my own. Retweets may be for interest, not necessarily agreement.

[Dan Neidle @DanNeidle]

UK tax has gone up significantly over the last 25 years

But the tax paid by the average UK worker has not

This apparent miracle was achieved by taxing “other people”: higher earners, capital, property, banks, etc

The strategy has run out of road

A 🧵 on what happens next.

[Mike Henley 🤨 @trentconsultant]

Consultants and medical academic salaries in Ireland (base pay, not including on call and other supplements)

[Lewis Goodall @lewis_goodall]

Henry Nowak’s father’s words outside court, who is probably the person we most need to hear from today.

[Mike Henley 🤨 @trentconsultant]

@DHSCgovuk @wesstreeting @TheSun It’s simple, treat hospital doctors fairly, we work for a monopoly employer. Since 2008 average workers pay up 68%, consultants only 30%. Our comparator professions up 79%. We’re effectively working for more than a quarter of the year for free compared to 2008.

[Cardiac Path Network @UKCardiacPath]

Two weeks to go until the UK Cardiac Pathology Network educational meeting:
❤️13th March
❤️free for residents!
❤️cheap for consultants!
❤️hybrid
❤️great for autopsy pathologists, cardiac pathologists, forensic pathologists, neuropathologists
Book online: https://t.co/ZbTd8qeGkL

[Stephen Preston @stephendpreston]

@RCPath How does that link to the GMC's guidance that there is no specific number of points?
https://t.co/O0lZCWy3m0

[Mike Henley 🤨 @trentconsultant]

BBC More or Less analysing (and identifying) that the current flu wave is neither unorecedented, super or the NHS under extra pressure. First 9 minutes. The lies from health secretary and prime minister are bad enough but NHS England joining in is totally unacceptable. https://t.co/HP1sZOR2yD

[Mike Henley 🤨 @trentconsultant]

Good luck! Alternatively you could just ensure the pay review process actually works, has the right people on it and have a realistic medical workforce plan and policy. This is a failing of government not the medical profession.

[Mike Henley 🤨 @trentconsultant]

Consultants, if people are telling 'you we've all suffered, now is not the time', read this post by Matt at least twice! If old style CEA's existed in the 2008 form UK consultant top pay point pay would be roughly same level as pay in Ireland/Australia for state work.

[Dr Steve Taylor @DrSteveTaylor]

There will be a lot of Politicians & media saying strikes will destroy the #NHS recovery

Strikes affected less than 1% of appts 2023/24

Hospitals cancelled 10 times as many appts ‘routinely’

Drs have lost 20% real terms income despite the pay ‘increase’
@wesstreeting

[Stephen Preston @stephendpreston]

@nedwards_1 Patient data as a product, like free apps I presume. The patient might get some benefit but the data will always be valuable. Targeted therapies also have a limited market but the tests can be sold to everyone even if the treatment wouldn't be appropriate.

[Stephen Preston @stephendpreston]

@philipmurraylaw Family finances work as a unit, we should be taxing families as units.

[Mike Henley 🤨 @trentconsultant]

I sat on BMA council with Clare Gerada, I can't remember Clare saying a single thing I agreed with then and I still don't agree with her now. The government should fund the NHS via taxation, not Drs and nurses with pay erosion. I believe in the NHS but not stealth pay theft.

[Mike Henley 🤨 @trentconsultant]

Drs are still paying the price 17 years later. ‘Taxpayers sell NatWest at £10B loss’. We’re still funding Austerity 1.0 while being asked to pay for Austerity 2.0 https://t.co/nEfOUFPpUz

[Philip Banfield 💙 @DrPhilBanfield]

In one graph from ⁦@guardian⁩ is the relative drop in earnings of public sector workers. Not surprising that ⁦@TheBMA⁩ members say the DDRB ‘award’ is inadequate. Claps don’t pay the bills, childcare for 24/7 on-calls, housing & massive student loan costs - cash does.

[Mike Henley 🤨 @trentconsultant]

Government uplift on DDRB imminent. Here is a cut out and keep table for how long it will take for your pay to catch up with the inflation adjusted 2008 level based on pay award (your pay has been behind already for 17 years, average worker caught up last year). 1/2

[Mike Henley 🤨 @trentconsultant]

And here are the pay graphs in general. Remember, government decides what services it wants & whether it pays for them by borrowing or taxation, at the moment the borrowing is coming from the workforce, your pocket, not all 68 million tax payers who use the service. 2/2

[Mike Henley 🤨 @trentconsultant]

Morning! The Government response on the DDRB will be out very soon. Private sector pay is rising at roughly 6%. Inflation (RPI) is 3.2%. Here’s a table of how long pay restoration would take depending on pay increase given. 1/2

[Mike Henley 🤨 @trentconsultant]

We are not all in this together. Private sector increases running at 6% and our comparator professions got to CPI recovery years ago, comparator nations paying double. In a timely way the BMA consultants committee negs team have a training session tomorrow. I Hope it’s not needed

[Mike Henley 🤨 @trentconsultant]

Listening to @BBCr4today talking about banking regulation being too tight. Everyone in the public sector are still paying for the last financial crisis @seanfarrington & the resultant industrial action has affected many of us. Check the finance line though on the graphs!