Doctors in the Isle of Man are being recommended to accept an 11th hour pay offer which has resulted in planned strike action being postponed.

The proposed two-day strike - which would have been the first industrial action by doctors in the island’s history - had been set to be begin at 7am tomorrow.

But Health Minister Claire Christian announced in Tynwald this morning that it had been called off after an agreement was reached with the terms of a revised offer.

Now the British Medical Association has given details of the offer which it said it will recommend to its members.

Under its terms, senior doctors employed by Manx Care will receive an 8% pay offer backdated to April 1 2023.

For 2024-25 they will receive 8% with 6% backdated to April 1 last year and the remaining 2% effective from February 1 this year.

Meanwhile resident doctors in the island will have their base salaries matched to the same level as their mainland counterparts in NHS England.

The BMA said if the offer is accepted, it will put an end to the dispute.

In a statement it said: ‘At the 11th hour, Isle of Man doctors have successfully negotiated a pay offer, postponing what would have been the first ever doctors strike on the Isle of Man.

‘The BMA will take this offer to members to vote on and is recommending the offer is accepted.’

The BMA say Isle of Man doctors have experienced real terms pay cuts since 2008 – some as much as 19%. Since 2008, inflation in the island has increased by 56.3% while the maximum consultant’s salary increased by 27.3% over the same period.

In December, Isle of Man doctors voted overwhelmingly to support industrial action, with 95% voting yes.

Chair of the Isle of Man Medical Society, Dr Prakash Thiagarajan said: ‘I’m relieved we managed to successfully negotiate this long overdue pay offer without the need for strike action.

‘Doctors on the Isle of Man deserve to be treated with the same respect as their mainland counterparts and have their expertise both recognised and paid fairly for the work that they do.

‘This offer, if accepted by our members, means we can continue to do what we do best – providing our patients with high quality care. I’d like to thank the Manx Industrial Relations Service, the Chief Minister, and the Minister for Health and Social Care for their valuable support in getting us this far.’

BMA chair Professor Phil Banfield said: ‘This first step towards reversing the pay erosion that Isle of Man doctors have seen since 2008 is the right decision by Manx Care for the long-term viability of doctors’ employment on the island.

‘All doctors deserve to be paid fairly in recognition of their expertise, the work that they do, and the rising costs of living where they work. We believed our doctors deserved better, helped them organise and stood with them. I’m pleased to see Manx Care come around and recognise their value too.’

In a statement, Manx Care said: ‘We have been working hard to ensure minimal disruption to services and patient care, and as such, instead of cancelling the majority of appointments straight away, we waited until we had a definitive answer from the BMA regarding their plans, to ensure that appointments were not cancelled unnecessarily.

‘However, some patients/service users may already have had their appointments cancelled – these may have already been rescheduled, or will be by the end of today. If you are affected by the cancellations, we will be in contact with you to rearrange your appointment as soon as possible.’

Manx Care had previously offered a pay rise of 6% for 2023-24 and 4% for 2024/25, matching increases provided to nurses and other healthcare staff.