Salaried GP terms
How much of a concern should there be over stagnating terms for sessional GP’s, and the lack of any meaningful action to address this issue?
After years of industrial action Resident Doctors pay settlement means full time GPST3 trainees will often be on higher incomes than their fully qualified colleagues for a similar number of ‘clinical’ sessions.
It is not uncommon in my locality for sessional rates to remain around £11k. Typically any salaried jobs that are being advertised offer 2-6 sessions which limits earnings unless you can find additional locum work. Working more clinical sessions to bolster income feels like it would be a recipe for burnout. Even finding a practice willing to offer full BMA model contract terms including on CPD time recommendations feels impossible. Yet a GPST3 in 2026/2027 can expect to be on >£80k per annum for a role with less responsibility and significantly less workload.
That is not to say that resident doctors do not deserve the uplifts they have received, much like hospital consultant colleagues. But it is an increasingly stark reflection of how poorly salaried GP terms have diminished over the years when a trainee can be paid more than qualified colleagues. It must also be demoralising for GPST3’s themselves to CCT, only to find their take home pay may fall once they have a job (if they can find one).
Partnership roles are not being advertised and as existing partners retire ARRS roles are considered as cheaper alternatives to maintain the incomes for those left behind.
GP Partners may suggest that practice incomes are stagnating and so there is less funding overall for higher sessional rates or to even offer annual DDRB recommended increases. But they also seem incapable or unwilling to act & to push the BMA for any further meaningful industrial action.
The GPC chair posted on X that it ‘wouldn’t take money to sort GP’.
One would assume that the current situation is completely unsustainable, but what will it take for this to change and how can there be any hope of improvement if GP leadership aren’t advocating for better terms?