A UK Government fix to address a pensions row that has left senior doctors with punitive tax bills has been branded a ‘sticking plaster’ by the BMA.

Introducing ‘flexibilities’ to the NHS pension scheme will not stop doctors reducing their hours or retiring early to avoid bills, the doctors’ union warns.

In its response to a UK Government consultation on proposed changes, the BMA says only ‘fundamental tax reform’ will fix the crisis.

They warn the dispute is having a ‘catastrophic’ impact on patients. More than half of senior Scottish doctors are planning to or have already cut down their working hours, a survey in September found.

Both the UK and Scottish governments have the power to introduce more flexibility in their NHS pensions schemes.

This would see clinicians able to reduce the amount they pay into pension pots so they are not stung by hefty bills.

But the BMA says this could effectively see doctors take a pay cut.

The union says the 2016 changes to pension taxation can only be undone at Westminster.

Dr Paul Youngs, BMA pensions committee chair, said: “These perverse rules have for too long meant that doctors are being forced to turn down vital extra shifts caring for patients in our under-pressure hospitals and GP surgeries because they would be literally paying to go to work.

“Doctors are trapped in a dilemma between wanting to care for patients and not wanting to end up financially worse off.

“We urge the Government to get a grip on this issue immediately,” the consultant anaesthetist continued.  

“As we approach Brexit day and the onset of winter – themselves presenting their own threats to the NHS and its patients – we cannot afford to be without the skills and expertise of our most experienced doctors.”