UK consultants are being paid more as a result of their new NHS contracts, but productivity has probably diminished, the House of Commons health select committee, examining workforce planning, heard this week.

Professor Alan Craft, chairman of the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges, explained that the contract had helped highlight the huge amount of overtime most consultants were working.

“Most consultants were probably working 60 hours a week. The standard has now gone down to 10 sessions, which is less than 40 hours. Employers have been working towards reducing everybody to the minimum number of contracted hours. So …