The Government had told the Doctors’ and Dentists’ Remuneration (DDRB) that salaried GPs will not receive more than 2.5% more pay next year, Pulse reports.
“DHSC have developed financial and delivery plans which currently allow for a pay uplift of 2.5% without having to make trade-offs against headline government health commitments,” authors wrote in their written evidence. “Should the independent pay review bodies recommend an award above this level, we would need to consider whether and how this could be made affordable from within existing DHSC budgets.”
BMA council chair Dr Tom Dolphin called the limit ‘indefensible’ and described it as a ‘real-terms pay cut for doctors’. The BMA estimates that a 2.5% uplift represents an increase of less than 50p per hour for newly-qualified doctors.
At England’s Local Medical Committees’ conference, taking place today, GPs will call for mandatory salaried GP pay rises to be ringfenced in the next GP contract.
Last month more than 3,000 GPs signed an open letter to request that the government ringfences GP funding ‘at all career stages’.
Dr Richard Fieldhouse, NASGP chair, says: “The Government’s stated intention to cap the salaried GP pay uplift at 2.5% next year is a profoundly short-sighted approach that risks accelerating the workforce crisis. This limit is effectively a real-terms pay cut for doctors, coming despite widespread calls from the profession for urgent action and increased funding.
General practice needs certainty, and this uncertainty will have consequences far into the future. We have consistently argued that clinical staff are an investment, not a commodity or a cost, and that restricting pay risks losing precious talent. To safeguard service delivery and ensure stability, the Government must heed the call from thousands of GPs to ringfence funding for salaried GP pay uplifts.
A resilient, flexible sessional workforce is an essential asset to the NHS, and protecting their pay now will be an investment that pays long-term dividends.”