Nearly half received less than the 6% explicitly provided by the Department of Health and Social Care to ‘enable practices to uplift GP and staff pay.’
When announcing funds for the 6% increase last year, the government said the additional funding was GP staff's ‘first meaningful pay rise in years’.
But many have not received the promised increase. Of those in England directly employed by their practice, who received a pay award of less than 6%, a third said their employer had not provided a reason, while 1 in 10 said their employer told them they were not required to pass on funding to nursing staff.
‘Nursing staff in general practice work at the front door of the NHS and are central to its success, but they are being repeatedly failed by the government when it comes to their pay,’ said Executive Director of RCN England Patricia Marquis.
‘While the government has made it clear that it wants to move more care into the community, it is failing to invest in those tasked with making it happen.’
GP nursing staff funding differs across the UK. In England, where there are around 24,000 GP nursing staff, only a fifth of staff employed directly by their practice received the 6% pay rise promised by the UK government.
In Scotland, despite a 5.5% pay increase being funded centrally, polling suggests discrepancies in how this has been distributed. We’ve written to the Scottish Government to seek clarity.
In Wales, an improved offer was put forward by the Welsh government in January 2025, which the BMA has accepted. The 6% pay increase should be applied after any statutory increase in national minimum or living wage has been added.
‘An understaffed workforce is already struggling to recruit and retain people to the profession needed to deliver high-quality care to a growing number of patients,’ added Professor Marquis.
‘The government must now change the funding model for general practice and ringfence money for staff.’