HCSA – the hospital doctors’ union is now the Hospital Doctors Union.
The union is today publicly unveiling our new logo, website and relaunched social media channels with President Dr Claudia Paoloni setting out the objective to “define clearly that we are the union for all hospital doctors: consultant, SAS, resident and locally employed doctors alike.”
The Hospital Doctors Union is the new name for an organisation founded alongside the NHS in 1948 as the Regional Hospital Consultants and Specialists Association (RHCSA).
For nearly eight decades it has represented the interests of hospital doctors, initially solely consultants and senior specialist grades but with membership extended to resident doctors in the 2010s.
Dr Paoloni explained that the name HDU reflected our role as a specialist union for hospital doctors and dentists, with the goal of ensuring more of the profession is protected and to build a stronger collective voice.
“We have long been the only union dedicated to these grades, in the NHS and private sector. Now our name makes this clear to those who should be members but are not.
“A large number of our colleagues are still in no trade union.
“When it comes to employment issues this doesn’t just mean they are taking a huge personal risk, but it weakens the voice and influence of the profession.”
HDU was founded in 1948 as the RHCSA by senior doctors who felt the voice of non-teaching hospital medical staff was not being heard. It later became the Hospital Consultants and Specialists Association, with a focus on individual support while advocating for hospital doctors and their importance and interests within the wider UK health system.
The change to the Hospital Doctors Union was voted for by members in 2024 to reflect the expansion of its membership to include resident doctor grades and the desire for the organisation to clearly define itself as a specialist union focused solely on hospital doctors and dentists employed in acute and community settings.