Consultant behind the senior doctors strikes who opposes privatisation works for SEVEN private health insurance firms and charges £2,000 for a routine test
- Read more: Junior doctors across England stage ‘longest strike in NHS history’
A consultant behind the senior doctor strikes claims to oppose NHS privatisation – but works with seven health insurance firms and charges £2,000 for a routine test.
Mike Henley, a lead negotiator for the British Medical Association, was last night accused of ‘staggering hypocrisy’ after the extent of his private work was revealed.
The doctor and union activist has said he opposes ‘privatisation of the NHS’. He has also promoted conspiracy theories about a ‘Tufton Street mafia’ – referring to the Westminster location of several centre-Right policy think-tanks trying to push what he calls ‘wholesale’ privatisation of the health service.
But Mr Henley works with at least seven health insurance firms at a private hospital. Some patients are charged more than £2,000 for a cystoscopy test, a procedure to look inside the bladder using a camera. He also demands more than £200 for an initial consultation.
Mr Henley, who owns a £1million cottage in rural Derbyshire, is among thousands of NHS consultants in England who will strike on Thursday and Friday this week.
Mike Henley, a lead negotiator for the British Medical Association, was last night accused of ‘staggering hypocrisy’ after the extent of his private work was revealed
Retreat: Mr Henley’s £1million house in rural Derbyshire. He works at the county’s hospitals
On Sunday the BMA announced two more walkouts of consultants – on August 24 and 25 – and threatened to stage more industrial action following an ‘insulting’ 6 per cent pay rise. This is despite consultants enjoying average earnings of £128,000 and £60,000-plus annual pensions – and amid warnings that their strikes will have a big impact on waiting lists.
The BMA insists the walkouts will not stop until their demands for a 35 per cent pay rise are met. Ministers say this is unaffordable.
Mr Henley will be among senior medics who are able to profit from the walkouts because they are allowed to cash in on private work while on strike. Tory MP Paul Bristow, who sits on the Commons health committee, said: ‘It’s a bit rich and staggeringly hypocritical for consultants like Mike Henley to be complaining about how underpaid they are while doing lucrative work with seven health insurance firms.
READ MORE: Junior doctors told to use 5-day NHS strike to go on a picnic
‘People like Mike Henley should be around the negotiating table and doing everything they can to get doctors back to work. I’ve got no problem with NHS consultants doing some private practice, but they then shouldn’t be moralising about NHS privatisation.’
A senior Tory source added: ‘This is complete hypocrisy from one of the key individuals behind the BMA Consultants Committee’s threats to strike.’
Mr Henley uses Twitter to give a running commentary on the health service.
In May 2016 he posted: ‘Consultants reject the privatisation of the NHS.’
In September 2021, he posted: ‘By relieving some of the pressure on the NHS it’s much harder for the Tufton Street mafia and their pet politicians to attempt wholesale privatisation/insurance models in the NHS.’ Yet he is listed as working with seven private medical insurance providers on the Nuffield Health website – Aviva Health, AXA PPP Healthcare, Benenden Health, Bupa, Bupa On Demand, Simplyhealth and WPA.
He is listed as among those charging more than £2,000 for a cystoscopy at Derby Hospital, which confirmed this was the rate without including a consultation, which is a further £225.
Alongside his private work, Mr Henley is listed as a urology consultant for the University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Foundation Trust. He is deputy chairman of the BMA’s consultants committee.
The BMA said Mr Henley will not get all of the fee advertised for his private work and that he could receive as little as 10 per cent.
A spokesman said: ‘Consultants are committed to providing patients with the best care possible.’ The union said Mr Henley did not wish to comment further.
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