NHS Employers responds to public sector pay announcements

NHS Employers supports the pay awards for doctors, dentists and very senior managers in the NHS that were announced today and believes they are fair for all.

Gill Bellord, director for core membership services at NHS Employers, said: "We welcome pay restraint for consultants in the NHS. The evidence we gave to the Doctors' and Dentists' Review Body (DDRB) called for constraint as increases would not be helpful in the context of such difficult economic times.

"In addition, we understand the Government's decision not to increase the pay of board level senior managers. It is reasonable that senior staff in the NHS should lead by example and demonstrate their commitment to meeting the current financial challenges."

The pay increase of 1 per cent for salaried GPs, salaried dentists, specialty and associate specialist grade (SAS) doctors and doctors in training in England is acceptable. However, we acknowledge that it creates a pressure as the increased cost has to be met by individual trusts already facing financial difficulties.

The award includes a new 5 per cent pay supplement for the small number of year one foundation (FY1) doctors in posts attracting basic pay (approximately 10 per cent or 600 posts) and this places an additional financial pressure on trusts. This is designed as an interim adjustment to pay pending the work which we have been commissioned to undertake to look at the effectiveness of the current contractual arrangements for junior doctors.

The Government has accepted all but one of the DDRB's recommendations for General Medical Services (GMS) and General Dental Service (GDS) contracts.

We support pay restraint for GPs and dentists and are pleased that the Government has taken into account the evidence we submitted on affordability and that such awards should take into account any efficiencies that practices may achieve.

The Government has also decided that it would not be unreasonable to expect GPs and dentists to make a 1 per cent efficiency saving on their expenses.

Andrew Clapperton, head of primary care workforce and contracting at NHS Employers, said "We have consistently made the argument over a number of years that these awards should take into account prospective efficiency savings and can understand why the Government has made the decisions it has."

Gill Bellord, director of core member services at NHS Employers, added: "We believe that overall the outcomes for doctors, dentists and very senior managers, which were announced today, are fair while reflecting the need for efficiencies that all NHS organisations are being asked to deliver."