David Oliver: Private practice by NHS doctors—still controversial?

The issue of NHS doctors practising privately still sparks heated debate among the profession, press, and public. The ongoing renegotiation of the consultant contract,1 the contested lifting of the pay freeze on NHS staff,234 and the finding that pay has fallen dramatically in real terms for doctors and other NHS staff since 2010,5 have thrown this into sharper relief. Why wouldn’t they want to maximise their earnings potential and better support their families?

And some on the political right argue that, taking into account pensions and automatic increments, public sector workers have done better than the private sector and that UK doctors are high earners by international comparison.6789 The potential in England for swathes of NHS provision to be opened up to private providers after the 2012 Health and Social Care Act leads us to consider where their clinicians might come from.10 …