How much junior doctors really earn as they plan to strike for five days over NHS pay

RThe doctors of Esidents will go ahead with a five -day strike This week after discussions between the British Medical Association (BMA) and the government broken down.

The BMA has rejected the government’s offer by a salary increase of 5.4% this year and requests a salary increase of 29%, saying that doctors have seen a wage erosion of 20% in their salary since 2008.

Wes Streting, the Secretary of Health, described the action of strike as “completely unjustified”. He added: “It shows a complete disdain for patients and the wider recovery of the NHS.” The BMA said that the offer from the Secretary of Health was not far enough in terms of salary.

The disengagement will take place from Friday July 25, until the following Wednesday, with further strikes threatened each month until January unless their payment requests are completed.

Resident doctorsformerly known as Junior doctorsare qualified doctors in their first years of training. A fifth ends their first two foundation years, while the others Training of the basic or specialized registrar.

The newly agreed salary For people on the formation of the Foundation is between £ 38,831 and £ 44,439, with specialized training salaries passing to £ 73,992. This includes the 5.4% increase allocated earlier this year, but does not include London’s weighting.

The BMA wants the salary to be increased between £ 47,308 and £ 54,274 for the doctors of the Foundation and up to a maximum of £ 90,989 for residents of specialized training at the highest, during a flexible negotiated period.

THE NHS Confederation estimates that each increase in compensation by 0.1% through the NHS will cost the health service an additional 125 million pounds sterling per year. Although the increase in wages is requested only for resident doctors, who represent 75,000 of the workforce, the difference between what BMA requires and what is currently paid could cost millions or even billions.

How many residents are paid compared to other doctors?

The current salary of doctors resident between £ 38,831 and £ 44,439 per year is for a 40 -hour week and does not include an additional salary to work more hours or night quarters, which varies considerably per person.

Doctors in basic or specialized training can earn £ 52,656 per year, which earns up to £ 73,992 per year.

The government has said that this is an average of £ 54,300 among resident doctors of all stages of the training.

In the meantime, consultantsWho have specialized knowledge in a particular medical field, earn a basic salary between £ 105,504 and £ 139,882 per year.

After two years of foundation training, it is generally about five to eight years more before doctors can become eligible for consulting roles, although the wait can be longer.

Nurses Start in a lower salary band, around £ 31,049 for a newly qualified nurse, according to the NHS agenda for change.

This can go up to £ 54,710 for parish managers and £ 96,0000 for the oldest specialized nurses.

Dentists employed by the NHS start at £ 42,408 per year and increase to £ 94,000 for the oldest roles and £ 105,000 for dental consultants.

This puts resident doctors in a starting range similar to dentists and 22% higher than nurses.

How far is the salary behind inflation?

Inflation is at the heart of the BMA requests, arguing that even after the uprising, Pay for resident doctors has been eroded 20.9% since 2008.

With the current uprising of 5.4%, the BMA says that doctors will not see their wages restored for 12 years, or until 2036.

Instead, resident doctors are looking for a salary increase of 29%, which Mr. Streting described “completely unreasonable”.

However, BMA figures are calculated using the inflation of the retail price index (RPI), which is no longer used as a national statistics. This includes factors such as housing prices, council tax and mortgage rates.

Using the official inflation measurement, the consumer price index (ICC), Nuffield Trust calculated that doctors’ salary dropped 4.7% more moderate during the same period.

In terms of cash, excluding inflation, resident doctors of the year of the foundation have experienced a substantial increase in salary in recent years.

The doctors of the first year foundation were only paid £ 29,384 in 2022; This means that the new uprising of 5.4% amounts to a global salary increase of 32% on this figure.

While 2022 saw an inflation rate of four decades and the salaries of doctors had already lagged behind, it is a greater increase than that seen by other public sectors.

The nurses, for example, saw starting salaries increase by only 14.8% in the same period, less than half of the rate of resident doctors.

Doctors’ salary compared to other public sectors

Doctors and medical staff provide essential public services. So how does their salary compare themselves to the police and firefighters?

According to the Firefighters Union (FU), a trainee will gain approximately £ 28,265 per year, has increased to £ 37,675 once they have become a fully “competent” firefighter in 1 to 3 years.

At this point, overtime is paid at £ 25.80 an hour. Firefighters generally operate a two -night quarter work model, with four days off between the two.

The highest salary for “regional manager” firefighters is £ 69,283, according to the FU; Without including London’s weighting.

Meanwhile, the police ‘federation figures suggest that police officers start on £ 29,07 per year (without London weighting), going to £ 48,000 for the highest wages.

The main inspectors can gain up to £ 72,700 in London in the highest range.

This suggests that resident doctors start in a moderately higher salary range, with more moving potential upwards. But comparing these areas of work is a challenge.

£ 70,000

Doctors must finish several years of medical school before qualifying.

These many doctors have a debt before entering the labor market – something that is not a requirement for other emergency services, including firefighters and the police.

Low doctor’s package compared to other countries

In France, most doctors are self -employed workers, with the exception of a minority which is directly employed by hospitals. Start wages should already be around £ 3,400 per month, totaling £ 40,800 per year.

The average salary for a general practitioner is £ 84,000, according to data from the public Health Service. This can go up to £ 350,000 for radiotherapists.

In Canada, low starting wages for doctors are about £ 46,000, according to national data. But average wages are around £ 122,000, with a advanced salary at £ 236,000 per year.

The United States has the highest wages for doctors overall, with a significant variation by the state. Since private health care remuneration is not standardized, it is difficult to compare the starting salaries directly.

But doctors resident in the United States are paid on average between 51,000 and £ 86,000, according to Glassdoor, some surgeons earning more than £ 500,000 per year.

It is important to note that the NHS is relatively unique because it is funded by the taxpayer.

Canada has a similar system, which covers 70% of health spending, known as Medicare. Most doctors are paid in an act remuneration model, not in a defined salary.

France has a reimbursement model where patients pay mainly in advance and can be partially or completely reimbursed by the State.

And the United States has a form of free health insurance, known as Medicaid; But it covers a narrowed fraction of the population. In the end, doctors are paid in private by forms of insurance, even if the State subsidizes certain health care.

In this way, the United Kingdom is somewhat unique in the way the taxpayer assumes the burden on public health care wages, excluding private doctors.