Clinical excellence and distinction awards for consultants in the NHS in the United Kingdom should be retained, but the maximum sums on offer and the number of awards available should be capped, the Review Body on Doctors’ and Dentists’ Remuneration (DDRB) has said.

The independent body’s report says that national awards should be available to a maximum of 10% of consultants and be capped at £40 000 (€49 000; $65 000) a year, £35 000 less than at present. Local awards should be available to 25% of doctors and be capped at £35 000 a year, it says.1

In 2010, 9.7% of UK consultants and clinical academics held national clinical excellence or distinction awards, worth …