Minister says doctors must agree deal

Ministers said yesterday that they would continue to demand reform of consultants' pay if doctors reject a new contract for senior staff tomorrow.

They fear doctors will reject the new contract for consultants, along with a 15 per cent pay deal, when the results of a ballot on the deal are published tomorrow.

John Hutton, a Health minister, told MPs that "the need for reform will be just as vital on Friday after this ballot result as it is today. There is a very strong need for reforming the consultants' contract, and that's also the view of the BMA as well."

Dennis Skinner, the Labour MP for Bolsover, said: "It seems rather odd that everybody else in the hospitals have to sing to the same tune, yet consultants who are making money on the side wield this tremendous power."