Striking NHS doctors in Wales won't lose pay if they recover hours

Hospital doctors taking part in industrial action in Wales on Thursday will not lose pay after an agreement was reached with the NHS in Wales.

Their full salary will be paid if doctors contribute fully to urgent care on the day of the strike.

They must also recover lost activity in normal working hours in the following 12 weeks.

The UK government has condemned action over pensions by members of the British Medical Association (BMA).

A majority of doctors voted in favour of a day of action on 21 June in a ballot of 104,000 BMA members.

The agreement on pay applies across all health boards and trusts in Wales.

A Welsh government spokesman stressed that doctors' pensions were not devolved to Wales and that the dispute was with the UK government.

A spokesperson said: "Our focus is to minimise the impact of any industrial action on the NHS.

"Under an agreement between NHS Employers (Wales) and the BMA Wales, hospital doctors on strike tomorrow will not lose pay so long as they treat patients who are inpatients or who require urgent or emergency treatment, and undertake the lost work, at no additional cost, in the coming weeks.

"This will enable the NHS to catch up on postponed operations and outpatient sessions."

For the Conservatives, shadow health minister Darren Millar said the pay agreement "adds insult to injury" for patients whose operations are delayed.