GPC England (GPCE) and the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) and have issued a joint statement to alert their respective members to the details of the recently announced 6% pay increase for salaried general practice staff.

The way the expenses uplift is applied leads to some inequity amongst GP practices. This means some practices will not receive enough additional funding to cover an entire 6% uplift for all salaried staff members.

The RCN and GPCE welcome a pay uplift for General Practice staff, announced earlier this year by the Westminster Government. However, they recognise that this announcement does not go far enough to address the impact of the current cost of living crisis and workforce attrition across General Practice, including in the disparity between nurses and other general practice staff employment terms compared to other parts of the NHS. It is well understood that nurses in general practice play a fundamental role in health promotion and prevention. Their role is essential to the provision of safe and effective care. Fair pay and attractive working conditions for all salaried staff are vital to secure and maintain the future of General Practice.

Government confirmation of 6% pay uplift 2023/24 for General Practice staff

Earlier this year the Westminster Government announced that all salaried General Practice staff in England, including nurses, should receive a 6% pay uplift.

The uplift that was agreed increases the staffing expenses element of GP contract funding by an additional 3.9% (on top of the 2.1% already added to the staffing expenses element of the contract in April 2023) meaning the staffing expenses element of the national GP contract funding pot will have been uplifted by a total of 6% in 2023/24.

NHSE has confirmed that the uplift covers on-costs (national insurance, pension contributions and other staff benefits).

By November the additional 3.9% of funding will be distributed to practices via the Global Sum formula allocation. This uplift will be backdated to April 2023. It is then the responsibility of practices to decide on arrangements for staff salary uplifts., We encourage GPs to use this increase in funding as the opportunity to invest in their staff.

Why the uplift may not translate to a 6% uplift for all practice staff

The way the expenses uplift is applied leads to some inequity amongst GP practices. It is distributed via the Global Sum – the payment per patient then varies following application of the Carr-Hill formula. This formula allocates funding per patient for each individual practice based on age/sex/additional needs/list turnover/staff market forces and rurality.

This means some practices will not receive enough additional funding to cover an entire 6% uplift for all salaried staff members.

Read the full statement on the BMA website here.