UK health secretary Matt Hancock on Tuesday (21) confirmed a 2.8 per cent pay rise for NHS dentists and doctors in England, backdated to April 2020 as the government has accepted the full pay recommendations in the latest Review Body on Doctors’ and Dentists’ Remuneration report.
The pay hike, part of the plan to make the NHS the best place to work, is in line with the NHS long term plan’s funding settlement of £33.9 billion extra by 2023-24.
The increase in basic pay will be between £2,200 - £3,000 for consultants, £1,100 - £2,100 for specialty doctors and £1,500 - £2,600 for associate specialists.
“These past few months have been an incredibly challenging time for our NHS, and the resolve, professionalism and dedication of staff has been on show throughout," said Matt Hancock.
“I am committed to supporting the entire NHS and social care workforce through improved recruitment and retention and delivering 50,000 more nurses and 6,000 more doctors in general practice.”
For salaried GPs, the minimum and maximum pay range will be uplifted by 2.8 per cent. No change for contractor GPs or doctors and dentists in training as both groups are in the second year of their respective multi-year deals. For junior doctors, each year of the deal there is an annual basic uplift of two per cent and all junior doctor pay scales will have increased by 8.2 per cent by the end of the deal.
The pay rise follows the settlement for more than one million NHS workers. Under this, the starting pay for a newly qualified nurse has increased by over 12 per cent since 2017-18 and all nurses have received pay increases of at least 6.5 per cent.
According to an official statement, negotiations on a multi-year pay and contract reform deal for specialty doctors and associate specialists are progressing, and agreement is expected to be reached in time for the next pay year.
The NHS pay review body would return to making recommendations for next year’s pay awards.
RCM demands pay deal for midwives, others
The Royal College of Midwives (RCM) has demanded a substantial pay increase for midwives and other NHS staff as the newly announced public sector pay rises do not include midwives, maternity support workers and nurses.
“The RCM and other health unions are calling on the government to bring forward a pay deal set for April 2021, and to negotiate a much more substantial increase for these staff. This should recognise the urgent need to recruit more staff into the NHS, retain those we already have and restore real earnings. The chancellor cannot ignore this call any longer," said Jon Skewes, executive director for external relations at RCM.
“The massive contribution and dedication of our NHS workers during the pandemic has shown just how valuable they are. It is now time to give the early and substantial pay rise they deserve.”
