To go back to the OP – I would play hardball – infact I would see it as evidence of such incompetence that I would probably refuse the job

If they can cock something as basic as that up before the job is even offered what will they be like to work for? I don’t buy it being an accident anyway.

If they can cock something as basic as that up before the job is even offered what will they be like to work for?

you really shouldn’t take a basic error like this as any kind of indication of what the company is like to work for.

Unless they’re working over and above their 80+ NHS hours

As edlong suggests, consultants don’t do 80 hrs (at least, they’re not paid for that)

I think it’s changed a little recently but full-time contract is 11 x “PA”s (programmed activity?) per week and I believe each is either 3 or 3.5 hrs. SOme do more than that but that’s locally negotiated and not a requirement.

To do loads (more than 10% of their time?) of private work, a consultant had to drop from full-time to maximum part-time, which was 10 x PAs (so 30-35 hrs – or the equivalent, as things like overnight on-call counts more hours per PA as they’re not always at work)

So (even if current rules aren’t quite the same) there’s plenty of time i a consultant’s week for private sessions. I don’t care if they do so, although it’d make me cross if NHS equipment was being hijacked for this

IANAD

Brakes why not? To me it shows incompetence and also shows a culture of carelessness

Sorry about the healthcare derailment 🙂 But the point about it not being contractual stands. I guess you get to find out early doors how flexible and generous they are likely to be in their employment, which is no bad thing.

although it’d make me cross if NHS equipment was being hijacked for this

Once again, apologies for being way off topic, but this isn’t really how it is. Taking the example of an MRI scanner, for example many of these are privately owned and / or operated. It goes something like this:

Private company puts in a scanner and employs radiographers, admin staff etc. Hospital contracts with private provider to provide scanning service – the contractual form will vary from place to place, but they might contract for x scans per month, or X hours availability with a minimum of Y scans. The private company can then use the scanner and staff for whatever it likes on top / outside those hours.

This is one reason why private patients can get easier access to times that suit those in work – the scanner might be exclusively doing NHS work from 9-5 but the company has the unit open from 6am – 10pm with the private patients getting the early morning and evening slots.

The company makes profit on those scans (the per scan area price to BUPA is unsurprisingly a little different to what the NHS is paying), so the NHS can benefit as the amount the company has to charge the NHS and still make it’s profit is considerably less than it would be if they did the NHS work exclusively.

The hospital then has more money for other things, or indeed for more scans.

Brakes why not? To me it shows incompetence and also shows a culture of carelessness

it is a single error, I personally wouldn’t extrapolate to such extents.

Any reason why you signed accepted their offer without seeing confirmation of the healthcare benefit (as well as everything else)?