The chair of the British Medical Association’s (BMA) Armed Forces Committee has welcomed the government’s announcement of a 2.2% increase in basic military pay for armed forces doctors and a 3.7% increase in the pay of general medical practitioners.
This year’s pay award is comprised of two uplifts – an increase in basic pay and an increase in the “x factor” that reflects the additional pay armed forces doctors receive when compared with their civilian colleagues.
Dr Brendan McKeating said: “It is pleasing to see a 3.7% pay rise for GPs serving in the armed forces.
“There has been a problem retaining GPs in the Defence Medical Service, which is in part due to the large pay gap that exists between armed forces GPs and their civilian counterparts. We hope that this pay award will help stem the flow of these doctors from the armed forces to the NHS.
“Although other groups of doctors were only awarded increases in basic pay of 2.2%, the increase in the x factor will be welcomed. The complex nature of this pay award means that we will have to look at the proposals in detail to see what the new package will mean for all armed forces doctors.”
