Making an unaffordable pay recommendation for GPs will ‘significantly’ impact patient care and make the job ‘even harder’, NHS England has told the pay review body today.
Yesterday, the Government revealed in its submission to the Review Body on Doctors’ and Dentists’ Remuneration (DDRB) that it has set aside funding to offer GPs a maximum 2.8% pay rise for 2025/26.
The NHS England submission said that NHS staff ‘work incredibly hard’ and that it wants to see them ‘fairly rewarded’, in a way that ‘strikes the right balance’ on resources so that they have the ability to deliver the care they want to for patients.
It also said that pay remains ‘the largest component of NHS costs’ – around 65% of total operating costs – and that pay inflation ‘represents a material cost pressure’ that the NHS ‘needs to plan for and manage’.
It said: ‘Our view on affordability considers the likely NHS budget from discussions to date with DHSC and what was set out by HM Treasury in the Autumn Budget 2024.
‘Based on this, we propose to set allocations for NHS planning on the basis of a 2.8% pay settlement. Every 0.5% increase above that costs around £700m; which is the equivalent to around 2% of elective activity (greater than 300k completed patient pathways).
‘We have already made significant prioritisation decisions. Pay awards above what has already been allocated will require further tough re-prioritisation of the decisions already made, significantly impacting patient care and in turn making the day-to-day job of NHS staff even harder.’
The DDRB is currently taking evidence ahead of its recommendation, but the timing of submissions suggests it will come earlier than in recent years, as health secretary Wes Streeting has instructed.
According to the DHSC’s submission document, arrangements for the 2025/26 GP contract are currently ‘subject to consultation’ with the BMA’s GP Committee, with final details to be published in spring 2025.
Responding to the submissions, the BMA chair of council Professor Philip Banfield said the proposed pay rise ‘indicates a poor grasp of the unresolved issues’ in the NHS.
He said: ‘It is far below the current rate of inflation experienced by doctors in their daily lives and does not move significantly closer to restoring the relative value of doctors’ pay lost over the past 15 years.
‘This sub-inflationary suggestion from the current Government serves as test to the DDRB. The BMA expects it to take this opportunity to show it is now truly independent, to take an objective view of the evidence it receives from all parties – not just the Government – and to make an offer that reflects the value of doctors’ skills and expertise in a global market, and that moves them visibly further along the path to full pay restoration.’
In July this year, the DDRB recommended a 6% pay rise for all UK GPs, which included partners for the first time in five years, and the Government accepted this recommendation in full.
However, the DDRB only advises on pay increases and not the total funding uplift received by practices, which was later set by the Government at a 7.4% uplift to the global sum for 2024/25.
Seriously, what are NHSE on about? Paying staff appropriately makes the job harder??
More and more GP’s leaving the NHS will make it harder for all patients.
The NHSE managers will still be shuffling pieces of paper and going to lots of meetings about meetings.
Nothing has changed. Every day I feel vindicated having left the NHS / UK.
What a load of horse manure, we shall see what they agree with all other NHS HC groups, can GP trainees now be taking a pay cut to finish training and start as post CCT independent clinicians
Adam, head for NZ or Canada if I were you like many of my trainees have, ironically the very best seem most keen to go elsewhere.
how can NHSE justify saying this when junior doctors and consultants have had pay awards way better than general practice this. year?! we have no hope of retention and recruitment !!
Hey, instead of Consultants getting chunky pay rise should have just stopped paying them, loads more dosh for scans operations etc. Economics of the retarded.
Some laughable mathematic acrobatics from the government here:
“every 0.5% increase leads to costs of £700M” – surely this is total nonsense, otherwise:
The intended pay rise is 2.8% – suggesting it should cost £3.92Billion (5.6x700M)
Spread between 58 million people in England – that is an increase in the capitation fee of £67.50 per patient.
I think GPs will be fine with the capitation fee increasing by £67.
Otherwise stop inflating figures to make a point. You just make yourself look like an idiot.
The pay rise is one problem. The income tax bills I now receive are astronomical. Is anyone else struggling to make these payments?
MPs’ pay will increase by 5.5% from April