The Institute of General Practice Management (IGPM) has warned that practices face ‘extremely difficult decisions’ following the announcement of a 3.5% pay uplift to GPs and practice staff.
While it said it supported ‘fair and appropriate pay for the workforce’, the organisation’s directors said they had ‘serious concerns ‘about the feasibility of implementing this uplift under the current funding arrangements’ and described them as unsustainable.
And it has again asked ministers to urgently reconsider the funding envelope for general practice staff.
Last week, the Government in England said it accepted The Review Body on Doctors’ and Dentists’ Remuneration – DDRB’s – recommendation for a 3.5% pay increase for GPs from April 1 .
Health secretary Wes Streeting said this would lead to ‘a 3.5% increase to the pay elements of the GP contract for GPs and other general practice staff’ in England.
However, the IGPM has said the proposed increase to the core GP contract for 2026/27 does not adequately cover the cost of delivering a 3.5% pay rise across practice teams.
It warned: ‘As a result, many practices will face extremely difficult decisions. These may include being unable to pass on the full pay award, reducing staff hours, altering terms and conditions, or, in the worst cases, making redundancies.
‘This is not a sustainable or acceptable position for a workforce already under significant pressure. Nor will it help the Government achieve its aim of improving access to healthcare for patients.’
The IGPM has said the funding formula underpinning pay decisions does not reflect operational reality because they are based on the assumption that less than 50% of core funding is spent on staff costs. Data from the IGPM and BMA has shown that that the true figure is significantly higher – closer to 80% in the majority of practices – and in some cases reaching 100%, the organisation said.
‘This highlights the reality that practices are already operating at or beyond their financial limits, ‘ it explained.
And this is exacerbated by other cost pressures including the rise in the National Living Wage of over 4%, as well as the removal under the new contract of Capacity and Access funding, commonly used by many PCNs to support practice staffing initiatives.
Furthermore, the IGPM explained, general practice or non-GP partners who are not direct recipients of this pay uplift, can be required to absorb additional costs within an already constrained funding envelope. ‘This means that many will see no real terms increase in income, despite carrying the financial and operational risk of running practices’.
The directors said: ‘The IGPM therefore urges the government to urgently reconsider the funding envelope associated with this uplift. Without appropriate and realistic investment that reflects the true cost of staffing general practice, these pay awards – however well intentioned – are simply unsustainable and risk destabilising the very workforce they are intended to support and patients’ access to general practice services.’
