Contractor GP salaries increased by almost 2 per cent in 2014/15, according to official figures released today, but industry experts warn that the numbers reflect an underlying issue.
Statistics from NHS digital reveal that GPs working under a General Medical Services (GMS) contract had an average taxable income of £98,000 in 2014/15, or an increase of 2.1 per cent from the previous year.
Meanwhile, GPs working under a Primary Medical Services (PMS) contract had an average taxable income of £108,000 in 2014/15, or an increase of 1.2 per cent from the previous year.
However, industry heads warn that the minor increase in GP earnings barely reflect the current state of affairs.
Not only has the average income for a salaried GP dropped by 1.7 per cent in the same year, but GPs in general were working longer hours and with a significantly higher workload to compensate for the decrease in overall GP numbers.
Dr Robert Morley, GPC contracts and regulation subcommittee chair, said: “The figures may be accurate but any increase in partner earnings simply reflects the fact that there is a decrease in the number of partners out there and workloads are going up.
“If the number of GP partners had remained static we would have seen a massive decrease in profits.
“The issues determining partner profit are hugely complex, there are so many variables but again, any increase will not even get close to offsetting the massive increase in workload and stress that partners are facing.”
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