HEALTH Secretary John Reid stood firm against hospital consultants yesterday saying he saw no reason to renegotiate a contract - even though they are on the brink of industrial action.

Hospital doctors at a conference in London voted yesterday in favour of a ballot on industrial action if no progress is made on negotiating a new national deal.

The decision has not been ratified by the British Medical Association (BMA) Council, and this is not likely to happen until the autumn.

But yesterday's vote sends a clear signal to the Government that consultants will not back down over their demands.

If hospital doctors worked to rule, it would have a major impact on the NHS by leading to longer waiting times and missed targets.

Consultant leader Dr Paul Miller sent a message to Mr Reid that there was still time to reach an agreement over the contract.

"Even now there is no reason why we cannot make progress with the new Health Secretary to achieve quickly a sensible outcome to our contract problem," he said.

"The distance between us is not unbridgeable."

Mr Reid, who was appointed following Darlington MP Alan Milburn's sudden resignation last week, responded by saying he highly valued the work consultants did for NHS patients.

But he added: "I have looked carefully at the offer made to consultants in the contract that the BMA agreed last year with the Health Department, and I see no reason to renegotiate that generous deal.

"It's a pity that some consultants have proposed this course of action even before I have had an opportunity to meet their representatives."

Dr Miller said the consultants' concerns were not about money.

"The fact is some aspects of the contract are a danger to patient care and are family unfriendly," he said.

"I still look forward to meeting John Reid and convincing him this is not about money. I still hope we can now resolve this crisis."

Last October, hospital doctors in England voted by two to one to reject a proposed new NHS contract.

Despite calls from the BMA for negotiations to be reopened, the Government repeatedly refused.

Instead, it said trusts could implement the contract locally or bring in new incentive schemes.

Dr Miller said local implementation attempts had been "spectacularly unsuccessful" and even NHS managers thought the incentives were a dreadful idea