UK (Parliament Politics Magazine) – A Nuffield Trust report finds resident doctors’ real pay has dropped by up to 10% since 2010–11, triggering fresh strikes and debate over the pay figures.
As reported by The Guardian, an independent report indicates that pay for resident doctors has declined by 4% to 10% since 2010–11, with staff set to walk out in protest on Friday.
What did the Nuffield Trust say about doctor pay cuts?
The Nuffield Trust has released an analysis that casts doubt on the British Medical Association’s claim that doctors’ pay has dropped by 29% since 2008–09, a timeframe just two years longer than the one used by Nuffield.
The Trust pointed out that the estimated pay decline can vary significantly depending on the starting year, the inflation index used, and the pay data selected. It said its method is more reliable, citing changes in earnings data collection since 2010.
The report also highlighted that it follows guidance from the Office for National Statistics, which prefers the Consumer Price Index over the Retail Price Index for measuring inflation.
The report’s authors stated,
“A shortage of independent analysis has meant that much of the debate has been based on flawed figures. All too often, true levels of inflation have been misrepresented, basic pay conflated with total pay, starting pay presented as average pay, whereas affordability arguments often do not recognise that some additional pay is returned to the public purse in taxes.”
According to the think tank, a four-decade analysis of doctors’ pay reveals a
“striking picture of sustained periods of real-term increases followed by similarly sustained periods of real-terms decreases in pay.”
The authors said that due to human loss aversion, doctors are more likely to feel the pain of real-terms pay cuts than to appreciate the benefits of real-terms pay rises.
Real-terms pay for resident doctors and consultants has been rising since 2023, following a decade of decline.
The report stated,
“Looking even further back to the late nineties and early noughties, they have fared well compared to inflation.”
The Trust found that by March 2026, first-year resident doctors in postgraduate training will earn a basic salary of £38,831. With additional pay for night shifts, on-call duties, and location allowances, average earnings rise to £45,900.
After completing two years of postgraduate training, specialty registrars earn a basic salary between £52,656 and £73,992. With additional allowances, total pay can reach up to £80,500.
NHS consultants receive a starting salary of £109,725, which increases to £145,478 after 14 years of service. With extra allowances, total pay can reach £161,600.
The Trust report reveals that GP earnings are difficult to define, but it projects that in 2022–2023, partners made around £163,500 and salaried GPs earned about £108,300.
The average pay for third-year NHS clinicians in 2024–25 was higher than the UK’s median salary. Specialty registrars earned more than almost nine out of ten workers overall, while GPs and consultants were among the top 2% of earners.
What did the BMA say about falling doctors’ pay?
Commenting on the findings, a BMA spokesperson stated that “whatever measure you use, doctors’ pay has fallen over the last 15 years and more.”
The association said it prefers RPI as a measure because “we believe it best reflects the real-life experience of working people in the UK”. They added that RPI is used to calculate everyday costs like student loan payments, car tax, and train fares.
A BMA’s spokesperson said,
“What this analysis doesn’t acknowledge is that since 2008-09 doctors’ pay has fallen by a much greater amount in real terms than the rest of the population. Indeed, if you do use CPI, the whole population has in fact achieved pay restoration to 2009 levels, while doctors still remain behind.”
What did NHS England’s medical director say about the strikes?
Prof Meghana Pandit, the NHS England national medical director, stated,
“There is no doubt this industrial action will take a toll on patients and NHS staff, and it is disappointing it is going ahead. While it will mean some appointments won’t be able to go ahead as planned, we are doing all we can to limit this, and patients should continue to use NHS services in the usual way.”
What did Dr Tom Dolphin say about the NHS strike plan?
Dr Tom Dolphin, chair of the BMA council, has called NHS England’s plan “irresponsible and worrying.”
He believes that trying to keep non-urgent services running during strikes could lead to unsafe staffing levels.
What did Wes Streeting say about the junior doctors’ strike?
Wes Streeting, the Health Secretary, stated, “We cannot move on pay after a 28.9 per cent pay rise.”
Mr Streeting said, union has the chance to
“to work with us on a range of options that would have made a real difference to resident doctors’ working conditions and created extra roles to deal with the bottlenecks that hold back their career progression.”
He added,
“After a 28.9 per cent pay hike in the last three years and the highest pay rise in the public sector two years in a row, strike action is completely unjustified, completely unprecedented in the history of British trade unionism and shows a complete disdain for patients and the wider recovery of the NHS.”
Junior doctor’s strike 2025
- The strike by resident (junior) doctors starts at 7am on Friday, 25 July 2025.
- This is the 12th strike by junior doctors since March 2023.
- Doctors are urging a 29% pay increase, claiming it is a matter of pay restoration.