Doctors blast government’s proposed pay rise as ‘derisory’ and risks further NHS strikes

Unions have blasted a "derisory” 2.4 per cent pay rise for doctors that has been proposed by the government next year.

The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) and NHS England told the independent advisory panel the increase for the 2027/28 financial year could be planned "without having to make trade-offs against headline government health commitments".

Unions heavily criticised the offer, describing it as "derisory" and stating that it "beggars belief". Joint evidence to the Review Body on Doctors’ and Dentists’ Remuneration (DDRB) noted the DHSC and NHS "is already managing a wide set of material financial risks".

These include "the impact of higher inflation, energy costs, industrial action and reducing immigration health surcharge income," according to the submission.

It warned NHS pay "is a significant material pressure where every 0.5 per cent increase to pay costs is approximately £750 million", describing this as the "equivalent of more than 89,000 hip or knee replacement operations".

The British Medical Association (BMA) criticised the recommendation and described the figure as a “pay cut”.

BMA Council chairman Dr Tom Dolphin said: “It beggars belief that at a time when patients are being treated in hospital corridors and car parks, people are waiting too long for a GP appointment and the government’s pledge to bring down waiting lists is stalling, ministers are saying doctors deserve a pay cut.

“While we’ve secured hard-fought progress in recent years, the bottom line is that pay for doctors is well below what it was 20 years ago, having experienced larger salary reductions than any other professional group.”

Head of health at Unison, Helga Pile, said more than 200,000 staff in the NHS are paid less than the real living wage.

She said: “NHS staff will take a very dim view of ministers trying once again to get away with an insulting pay rise, falling well short of expected inflation.

“This government came into office on a promise of change. Two years later it’s pledging hope, but most NHS workers have seen neither.

“With the usual winter pressures just around the corner, and bills set to go through the roof, the suggestion of such a derisory increase is even harder for health staff to take.”

The BMA urged the DDRB to consider “what the NHS and patients really need”.

In 2026, the government accepted a 3.5 per cent pay increase recommended by the DDRB, exceeding its initial proposal of 2.5%.

Dr Dolphin said: “Cutting pay is not the way to tell a workforce you value them, and doing so will do nothing to keep doctors in the country and the NHS working to improve the experience of patients and performance of services.

“In the short-term, when we have groups of doctors in dispute, and with consultants in England having a mandate for strike action, a failure to recognise and value their expertise risks further industrial unrest and disruption.

“In the long-term we lose doctors and the crisis in our NHS deepens. The current project by policymakers and NHS bosses to replace doctors with non-medical staff on the cheap is already risking patient safety.

“The pay review body, the DDRB, will face a test of its independence, and we urge its members to consider what the NHS and patients really need, rather than be hamstrung by a government telling them it is not prepared to invest properly in the medical workforce.”