§ Mr. Frank FieldTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the position of consultant surgeons on 10/11 contracts with the NHS; and what the average time is they spend personally undertaking operations and supervising others in undertaking this work. [54713]
§ Mr. HuttonCurrently a consultant on a maximum part-time contract foregoes one eleventh of national health service salary in return for the lifting of restriction on private practice earnings.
The Department does not collect data on the amount of time consultants spend undertaking operations or supervising others in doing that work. The annual job planning review provides the basis for the framework of contractual obligations. Job plans cover all aspects of a consultant's practice in the NHS and set out clearly the consultant's time and service commitments. Within the consultant contract negotiations we are seeking to provide a clearer framework in which decisions can be made and agreement reached between consultants and employers about the time to be spent on different categories of activity.