NHS consultants have voted by a margin of six to four to accept the latest contract offer put to them by the government.

The result of the British Medical Association's ballot was announced shortly after polling closed on Monday.

England's 32,000 consultants had already rejected one offer put to them by the government last year.

Former health secretary Alan Milburn refused to reopen negotiations but his successor John Reid offered an olive branch following his appointment in June.

The main sticking points had been weekend working hours and the extent of control hospital managers will have over doctors.

But Reid moved to reassure staff that they could not be forced to work night and weekend shifts.

Dr Paul Miller, chairman of the BMA's central consultants and specialists committee, said "over the last four months we have made very significant improvements".

"This is a good outcome for the NHS and its patients," he added.

Ministers want to reform working hours in order to offer a more flexible health service in exchange for higher pay.

Senior staff are now set to gain by between nine and 24 per cent in salary rises.

Reid welcomed the decision, claiming the news would provide a boost to NHS reform plans

"This is a very good result for the NHS and more importantly for NHS patients," the health secretary said.

"We greatly value NHS consultants for their professionalism, their expertise and the hard work they do for NHS Patients.

"All 1.3 million NHS staff have signed up to new ways of working that'll enable us to deliver an even better service for NHS patients.

"It has taken a long time and a lot of hard work to reach this point but we can now build on this positive outcome and work together to ensure that we continue to drive forward with reforms and improvements to patient care in the NHS."

Shadow health secretary Dr Liam Fox welcomed the "stability" the result would bring.

"There can now be no excuse for the government's failure to deliver on its health pledges," he added.

Liberal Democrat health spokesman Paul Burstow said "ministers must stop micromanaging the NHS and let frontline staff get on with the job".

"An agreement may have been reached on this contract, but doctors will still find their work distorted by political targets, which stop them from treating the sickest quickest," he said.

Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish consultants are negotiating contracts separately with their own devolved authorities.